The Big Mistake
by PurpleGirly
Summary: After a certain two team mates reveal identical feelings towards each other and are finally living out their life as a proper couple, things take a turn for the worst, and they begin to spiral into a comical but stessful set of problems Rated 'T' for some content
1. Personal Problems

**OK, This is my frst story, so please go easy on the replies, I burn easily! LOL**

**And I'm sorry in advance for any typos or grammatical errors that I may've missed!**

**Anyways-ONWARDS!**

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"You done starin' yet?"

Truthfully she wasn't, Lexi wanted to just sit there, Ace's arm wrapped tenderly around her waist, gazing up at the billions of stars over head. Just the two of them together.

"Hmm?"

"I said, are you done starin' yet. You've been sitting there starin' into space for over five minutes. You okay?" Ace asked, with a slightly concerned look on his face

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess, I just wasn't expecting this, that's all."

Ace frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I guess....Maybe what we did was a bad idea. What are we gonna do? "I would've thought if anything you would've been slightly...I don't know, Stressed, disappointed, Angry....?"

"....Now hold up for a minute, Sure this isn't, at all what I was expecting, and definitely not what I really wanted to happen to you, but why would I be angry?"

"I don't know, it's a big shock, and right now...I don't think there is anything I can do about it now." Lexi roughly turned her head away; she didn't want him to see the tears streaming down her face.

"Hey." Ace said softly. He put his hand under her chin, so she would look at him.

"Lexi, this isn't your fault. If anything...It's mine!" He blurted out the last part, in an attempt to allow the blame to somehow shift to him, and of course, to try and make her smile.

Lexi started to battle with her own conscience, trying to make sense of the whole situation was becoming difficult, like fighting with an exact replica of yourself, no matter how many punches you throw, somehow they only hurt you. _'It hasn't worked. I feel sick and humiliated, how can I even look at him? He's caring at least, and he's trying to help, but he has, and never will, know what I'm going through. _

"Lex, obviously, I have no idea how you feel right now, but I can promise you I'll help. So don't think I'm just gonna bail on you just because this is mainly concerning you."

She looked at him, her expression mixed between gratefulness, hope and disbelief. "Thank you." She whispered before throwing her arms round his neck, she wasn't sure whether she was happy or dismal but suddenly It felt as though all the emotions that had been bottled up inside her were pouring out. She didn't care if anyone else saw them, she didn't care that Ace could see, hear and feel her crying into his chest. All Lexi knew was throughout the period of time she was crying. He was there.

Lexi pulled away sharply, "I guess deep down. That was what I was afraid of most... whether you would be here for me or not." Ashamed of her own thoughts, Lexi turned her head away from him. "I don't even know how I could let myself think you wouldn't be. You've always cared, for as long as I've known you. Since the day we were all brought together as a team, and you were chosen to be our leader, you've looked after us. And you've looked after me."

Ace smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"I'll always be here for you, you can tell me anything...and don't you forget that." He whispered. "You're the one person I've loved this much. I would lay my own life down for you, happy just to know you'll be safe."

Lexi looked up at him, her arms still wrapped around his middle, staring into his eyes. He smiled when he noticed, before leaning in and passionately kissing her.

Lexi smiled happily and let him continue.

The two sat there for hours, Ace still lovingly embracing Lexi, until he looked down to realise she was asleep. Readjusting his position, he picked her up, Bridal style, and walked to his room with her in his arms.

Had it been less than two weeks ago, Ace would have carried Lexi back to her hammock, and proceeded to get himself ready for bed. Now, the two had been happily lying in each others bed, Lexi in Ace's arms asleep together.

Lexi stirred a little when he lay her down in his bed, and opened her eyes.

Ace smiled at this, and lay down next to her.

"I think we should tell the guys what's been going on." Lexi announced, half asleep.

"Are you sure?" Ace said, slightly concerned over how the others would react.

"Yes." Lexi answered briefly before drifting off to sleep again.

'Well this is gonna go down well' Ace thought sarcastically before, too drifting into a deep slumber.

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**Hi People of Earth!**

**I've finally got the first chapter of my story up, With the help of Siamese712 and IceGirl2772, Thanks Guys!**

**Sorry that this chapter was majourly cheesy and a bit dramatic, but, I can assure you, It will get better and, hopefully more humerous!**

**And I will try to get the next chapter up ASAP!**

**~PurpleGirly~**


	2. Flashback

**Thank you, To IceGirl2772, For reading and Relying!**

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"Well, its official." Ace sighed. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at a white tester before him. Lexi, who had just returned from having a shower in Ace's bathroom, frowned at the sight of him. He always looked heroic and brave, in her eyes, ready to help at any time, but still, he always had a playful and positive attitude. Seeing him in this state; ears drooped slightly, his back arched over, and the uncomfortable silence she was met with, was enough to make her stop dead in her tracks.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"It's not your fault!" Lexi said, running over and hugging him. "I should've been more careful."

The tone of Lexi's voice was both sorrowful and playful. Ace, who was slightly confused, stared down at her.

"Wha, what do you mean?" He asked, quizzical at Lexi's answer.

"I should've known that this could happen to me...and besides it kinda was me who aroused the whole...er... 'situation..."

_Flashback_

"Guys! I could really do with some help up here!" Lexi screamed.

The Loonatics were, once again, battling Dr Dare and his army of Rock Monsters. Though at this point the team were unsure of how Dr Dare was freed after being turned to stone for the second time since their first encounter with the madman.

Lexi had accidentally been caught by one of the Rock Monsters and was currently being carried away, against her will.

"Hang on Lexi, we'll get you down. " Duck called with a grim face "I'm just not exactly sure how!"

"Right now Duck,.... I'm not worried about..... hanging on, considering... I'm being.... held, and having my..... hips crushed by some...Thing!" She called out, through stopping for gasps of air every so often.

"Good to know!" Duck shouted with sarcasm as he gave her a thumbs up, but teleporting shortly afterwards to avoid being crushed by her captor.

"Any ideas Tech?" Ace asked his coyote friend as he watched his helpless team-mate struggle against the grip of the Rock Monster.

"Yes. I can turn that Rock to dust with my Atomic Phase Departiculator! But it's back at HQ." Tech replied.

"OK" Ace said, turning to Rev, "you go get it. And HURRY!"

Ace's sudden loud command caught the others by surprise. And they now all stared at their leader, wide-eyed.

"A little keen to get her backs safely, aren't we?" Duck exclaimed raising his eyebrows in a smug manor.

"Er...well...Um, Rev just go!" Ace sighed

Within moments the red and black clad road runner returned with Tech's APD. (Atomic Phase Departiculator)

Tech shot a single beam at the Rock monster and it immediately turned into water.

"Whoa!" Lexi screamed as she fell to the ground.

"Gotcha!" Ace said as Lexi fell into his arms.

"Thanks and nice catch!" Lexi commented.

"Kjglhidkjkjgk Eat?"

"Yeah slam, we'll get something to eat, once we get the king of rock here n the slammer!" replied Ace. As he spoke, Tech slipped a pair of Handcuffs onto Dr Dane's wrists. And he was, once again, taken to the Acmetropolis subterranean prison.

After eating lunch at a nearby diner the Loonatics were walking back to their Head Quarters. Tech, Rev, Slam and Duck were walking a considerable way ahead of Ace and Lexi, who were walking along side each other, talking.

"Again, thanks for...saving me today, Ace."

"No problem Lex, so are you sure you're OK?"

"I'm fine, only, now it's raining!"

"What's so bad about a little rain?" Ace asked smirking at the thought of what her answer could be about."

Suddenly a loud clap of thunder brought Ace back to reality.

"Awww man, now this is really gonna mess up my hair!" exclaimed Lexi as she and Ace started to quicken the pace as they drew closer to Head Quarters.

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**This** **Chapter's got a bit more action for those who like that!**

**Ummm, I don't think I have anything else to say!?**

**Hmmmm.....**


	3. A Little Question

After drying off, The Loonatics went away to do their separate things. Tech went to work on another experiment, Slam, Rev and Duck were watching TV. Lexi and Ace were training in the Virtual trainer.

"So Lex..." Ace asked whilst slicing a virtual robot in half.

"Yeah, whoa!"

Lexi just managed to miss a shot from a virtual trainer as it shut down, but she lost her balance in the process.

"Whoa, careful!" Ace dashed over and caught her before she fell. "Gotcha again Lex!" Ace chuckled as he helped her to her feet.

"Thanks Ace, this is really not my day!" she smiled "Now...what was it you were saying earlier?"

"Well, Um...err...I was wondering...if..."

"Don't tell me the fearless leader, Ace Bunny, is at a loss for words?" Lexi giggled.

"I was wondering..."

"Yes."

"I was wondering...If you wanted to come to dinner with me."

"What is this, you, asking me on a date?" Lexi asked blushing.

"Well, yeah I guess." Ace replied, finally regaining his confidence.

"Then, hypothetically, if I were to go, what time?"

"I don't know seven?"

"Then, Ok!" Lexi blurted, she kissed his cheek before happily walking out of the room.

Ace stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Gleefully, he touched the place on his cheek where Lexi had kissed him before triumphantly pounding his fist into the air and too, leaving the room.

* * *

It was 7:00 and Ace was wearing a smart Black Jacket with matching trousers, white shirt and tie. He was busy talking with the others.

"Sooooooo, you finally asked her out then." Duck said, nudging Ace in the ribs.

"yeah-I-mean-we've-always-known-that-you-like-her-and-we've-been-waiting-for-ages-for-the-two-of-you-to-actually-go-out-or-at-least-do-something-that-people-in-a-relationship-wou-"

Rev's rant was interrupted when Tech clamped his beak shut. A muffled; 'Hey!' could be heard coming from the bird's closed mouth.

"You did good chief" Tech commented "so where are you taking her?"

"Don't know, we'll discuss on the way." Ace replied.

"Speaking of women, how come you'll be on a date before I've even had one?"

"Maybe it's because you're such a charmer, and they get shy and flustered whenever they want to ask you out?" Lexi said sarcastically as she entered the main room.

She was wearing a pink strapless dress with a green belt around her waist to match her normal ribbon she used to tie her ears back. She also wore a translucent green shawl around her arms.

"So do you wanna get goin'?" Ace asked getting up and walking over to her.

"Yep. Let's go!" Lexi replied happily.

The two of them left leaving the rest of the team to their own devices.

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**The Chapter's kind-of short, I know. But more will happen in the later ones!**

**Thank you to IceGirl2772 and Cat 2772 for the Reviews!**


	4. The Date

**OK, I decided to add two chapters at once, as I've already got the first 8 chapters saved. So you could expect about two chapters appearing, until I get to the ninth, which I still need to write. If there is a delay there, It's most likely because I have school-work ect, to work on.**

**Once again, Thankyou to everyone who read and reviewed, You guys rock!**

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Evening fell over Acmetropolis, The sky grew darker and lights turned on. The nightlife scene began. The four remaining Loonatics were busy watching rented movies, passing the occasional comments abut how their fellow team-mate's date was going.

Meanwhile, Ace and Lexi were sitting in a small booth in a French restaurant called 'Le Petite Fromage' (I know it means The Little Cheese, but it's all I can think of!)

"So Ace, what made you ask me out all of a sudden?" Lexi enquired

"Well, um...to be honest." Ace started, moving closer to Lexi. He placed his hand on hers.

"I've always liked you. I'm always trying to make sure you're okay, cause I would never want anything to happen to you." He started to lean in as he said the last of his sentence. Placing his free hand around her waist.

They both leant in and their eyes began to shut.

"Excuse me, oh um, I'm terribly sorry..." The waiter stuttered as he realised what they were about to do. "Would you like to order?"

"Yeah sure" Ace replied. He looked at Lexi disappointedly, before turning his attention to the waiter.

After placing their orders, the two bunnies stared at each other. The mood had been shattered when the waiter came. They smiled at each other nervously, deciding almost simultaneously in their heads that they would have to wait for a more intimate moment to continue with their first kiss. After all, they wanted it to be special.

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The two spent the evening talking about their past, and sharing their experiences of how they developed their crush over one-another. As well as sharing their stories where they felt they had humiliated themselves in front of each other.

"Yeah, I got kinda embarrassed when you pulled me from that Tornado that Weathervane created, and I landed on my butt and rolled over."

"Sorry about that, trust me; I thought you were gonna brain-blast my furry white tail for not catching you!" Ace snorted.

Lexi chuckled. "I wouldn't do that...to you...I would to Duck but, you meant well and that's all that matters."

Whilst the two were talking and laughing together happily, they had no idea that they were being watched. The figure followed them as they got up to look out over Acmetropolis bay from the Restaurant's balcony.

"Thanks for dinner Ace." Lexi smiled. "It was really great."

"I know, it beats the time we have eating with the guys."

"Slam and Duck?"

"Their eating habits and constant bickering, never cease to astound me." Ace joked "And of course, it disgusts me!" He finished, looking down at Lexi, whose head had managed to find resting spot of his shoulder.

Lexi just happened to glance back over her shoulder and notice 'their stalker' walking towards them. She gasped when she recognised him.

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**Yey, A big cliff-hanger!**

**I'll try and upload the next chapter soon. Maybe even tonight!**


	5. Le Pew

**Ok, New chapter. Thanks to IceGirl2772 and Cat 2772, For R&Ring**

**You guys rock!**

**Did I already say that????**

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"Le Pew!" She stammered.

"You speak French?" Ace asked, oblivious as to the cause of her alarm.

"...Among other languages. But look." She muttered quietly.

This time Ace turned round and noticed Pierre Le Pew standing behind them. He was surprised that he couldn't identify him by his foul smell earlier.

"Ahh, so ze two love birds decided to, how you say, 'hook up.'" He said raising his eyebrows and winking at Lexi.

"So" Ace began slyly, "How did you bust out of the pokey...Friends, Bail, some insanely dumb woman who actually finds you attractive?"

Pierre chuckled at this remark. "No, no, no monsier, you see...After you and ze rest of ze team apprehended me and stopped my, how you say..."

"Er, Illegal fights which caused innocent people, including out friend Slam to fight to the death!" Ace interrupted coldly.

"Crude, but...tell it how you wish, anyway, when ze aliens and other beings were transported back to zeir country or planet of origin, you inadvertedly eliminated your only witnesses. Consequently, ze lack of evidence represented no reason for me to be...how you say...incarcerated." Pierre continued smugly.

"...So" Pierre started, eyeing Lexi's body. "How did you manage to slip away from me so easily?" He said enticingly. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him.

"Get away from me!" Lexi screamed as she tried to get away from him, but to no avail.

"Let go of her Le Pew." Ace commanded sternly.

"Oh, Monsier, you wish to have her?" Pierre asked slyly. He was fully ware of what he was going to do, he regretted it deeply, but knew well enough that it was the only way he could escape without injury.

"...Zen maybe you should try to take better care of her!" Pierre swiftly picked Lexi up and tossed her over the edge of the Balcony.

"Lexi! Ace screamed as he ran to the edge and grabbed her wrist.

Pierre used this moment to get away; the last person he would want to be confronted with was Ace, especially when he was seething after the near death of his team-mate, Friend and Date.

"My god Lexi!" Ace exclaimed relieved as he pulled Lexi over the edge of the balcony and into his embrace. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Fine" Lexi replied trying to catch her breath.

"I could've lost you. " Ace stared into her eyes. He leaned in and closed his eyes. Lexi returned the gesture and the two locked lips for the very first time.

Neither of the two had any idea how long they stood there sharing their fist kiss, but when they finally did part they could only smile, and stare at each other thoughtfully.

"Wow!" Ace, finally broke the silence.

"Yeah" Was all Lexi said as she caught her breath.

"We should probably get goin', Ace said as he glanced down at his watch.

"What time is it?" Lexi asked simply.

"9:57" A facetious smile suddenly spread itself along his lips. "Well, the night's still young, why don't we take a walk along the beach now that Mr. Personality had gone."

"I wonder where he went." Lexi pondered before staring up at Ace. "But, yeah...your right, we should."

The two left the restaurant, clasping hands as they walked down to the beach. After a considerably warm day, Heat still rose from the sand and sea making the area delightfully sultry. The Bunnies walked along the beach, rarely even talking but both new they were happy. Eventually they had walked so far along the sea front, that they could see their Head quarters. They lay down in the sand and stared up at the stars, with nothing but the faint sound of the calm see and the soft padded footsteps of other couples, to be heard.

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**Aww, A Nice cheesy, romantic end to a chapter. Man that's Lame!!!**

**Anyway, I need to catch up on Homwork for now, but I will upload the next chapters soon!**


	6. The Night's Still Young

An hour passed and the two rabbits were still lying on the beach looking up at the stars, Ace had his arm around Lexi as the two lay there silently, smiling.

"Beautiful night isn't." Lexi said, finally breaking the silence. Startled by the sudden comment, Ace sat up, resting his forearm on his knee that was raised; he looked down at Lexi, who was still lying on the sand.

"Not as beautiful as you." Ace smiled as he said this. He put one of his arms behind her back, and the other under her legs, picking her up, Bridal style. He began to walk along the beach as he started for their HQ.

Occasionally he glanced down at Lexi and smiled. She smiled and rolled her eyes. She never liked being carried, it gave her a feeling of helplessness, as you can't control where you're being taken and it can be difficult to leave someone's grasp. She was too used to that, when her brothers would pick her up and hold her next to large spiders they found around the house, while she would kick and cry for them to let go of her.

Ace however, she never minded with him, only, the only other occasions that he ever carried her, was if she was knocked out, or injured during a mission, but that rarely happened. Although she wasn't fond of being carried, having Ace's strong arms supporting her, the scent of his colone and the warmth of his body against hers made her feel carefree and safe.

-----------------

Outside the door of Head quarters, Ace finally set Lexi down. Her legs felt like jelly as she stood up and she stumbled a bit until Ace put his arm round her shoulders to stop her from falling. Once again they kissed, before walking into the elevator and making there way up to the main room of their Head Quarters.

The rest of the team were still half way through yet another rented movie, but they turned their attention to the two bunnies as they walked happily into the room.

"Soooooooooooooo how was the date?" Duck asked raising his eyebrows.

"It was...really, really good." Lexi answered happily. She kissed Ace on the lips. "I might go to bed, Night guys." Lexi said as she walked out of the room. Though, Lexi had a slight alluring look in her eyes as she stared briefly at Ace.

The guys smirked at Ace who was smiling calmly.

The rest of the team soon resumed their film whilst Ace sat down on a bean bag and started to contemplate in his head, why Lexi looked at him like that.

After no luck, Ace continued to watch the film with the others. Once it had finished, the guys disbanded to their individual rooms for the night, although instead of his room, Tech walked to his lab.

Ace decided that he wanted to go and talk to Lexi so he walked to her door, and politely knocked on her door.

He could hear music coming from inside her room; he knew she liked to read before bed. After waiting for a while Ace knocked again. There was still no reply.

Ace started to worry, with her sensitive hearing Lexi would easily be able to hear him knocking, even with her music playing.

When their rooms were designed, Tech had installed locks on each of their rooms for privacy, but in the event that a team-mate was locked in, or the others were worried about a certain team-mate, there was an access code to get into the rooms from the outside. Only Ace and Tech had memorised the access codes for everyone's rooms Ace, because he was the leader and was in charge of the team and their safety, and Tech because he built and input the access codes.

Although Ace was doing this for a safety purpose, he couldn't help feeling uncomfortable with just barging in.

He and the other male members of the team had decided between them that they would only go into Lexi's room like that if they had a definite feeling she was in trouble, being that, she was the only girl in the team, and none of them like the thought of being brain blasted, or kicked where it hurts, for going into her room...especially if she was getting dressed.

Ace wasn't entirely sure whether this was a time where he should be using the access code or not, and he winced at the thought of her getting angry at him for coming in.

With a sigh, Ace pressed the enter button after punching in the keys and the door opened. Ace walked in, not sure what to expect. Her room was clean and her shelves had numerous books. As he walked in, Ace noticed a wall filled with photographs and framed certificates from when Lexi took part in the annual gymnastics competitions, held every year at the Acmetropolis Gymnasium. There was also a desk that stretched across the width of the wall that had numerous trophies of different sizes arranged along it. Ace noticed a picture of two female rabbit Anthros standing beside Lexi after she had won a competition, each of them smiling, with the two older figures standing with their closest hand on Lexi's shoulders.

"That's my mum and my Grandma....If you're interested."

Ace turned round to see Lexi standing behind him in her pyjamas, holding her uniform, neatly folded in her arms. To his surprise, Lexi didn't look angry, but instead had an intrigued smile on her face as she gazed up at him.

Regaining his composure Ace looked down at Lexi and voiced his thoughts. "Where were you? I knocked and you didn't answer, I got kinda worried."

"Humph, That explains why you're here I guess, saves me asking. "Lexi said. She walked over to a draw and put her uniform in it.

"Well..." Ace asked following her "Where were you?"

"Bathroom, I was changing." Lexi answered she pointed at her pyjama top and smiled at him.

"You get dressed in your bathroom?" Ace asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well...yeah, its fine for you guys, you're all male, so if someone came into your room while you were changing it'd be fine. Whereas if you guys came into mine while I was getting dressed..." Lexi smirked. "...You'd probably be very sore. Lucky I wasn't in here when you decided to drop in huh."

"Not really" Ace started "...Cause I wouldn't have had to come in if you had answered me when I knocked. Trust me..." Ace said putting his hands up to assure her "The guys and I would only come into your room if we really needed to."

"...Like when?" Lexi Asked

"...Like...If we thought you were in trouble." Ace replied

"What, Like if couldn't get my bra off or something?" Lexi asked playfully. She knew what Ace meant, but hearing an answer to this was bound to be amusing.

"Well, yeah I guess getting a guy to do that would help." Ace said, smirking.

Lexi playfully slapped Ace on the arm, only to have him pull her into his embrace while he kissed her deeply. This kiss wasn't like any of their previous ones, it was more passionate. They didn't part and they somehow found their way to Lexi's hammock by the time they parted to breathe. The night didn't stop there as the two of them became physically intimate.

_End of Flashback_

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**...And I'm sure you all know what happened there, no need to go into any details!**

**Sorry I havn't updated in a while, I've been writing my back-up story ('Why?') Because I've got really bad writer's block for the ninth chapter of 'The Big Mistake' I have a rough idea of what's going to happen, but I need to get it written and, most likely edited. Alot!**

**Thanks to all of you who reveiwed either here, or on LUO (Loonatics Unleashed Online)**


	7. The Morning After

**Thanks to everyone who replied, or just read it! (This goes out to those of you at LUO as well!)**

**BTW, Goddess-Chan123 (what do you mean???)**

**...Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

_End of Flashback_

"Well...Truthfully the night was good while it lasted." Ace sighed; he put on a pitiful smile.

"It was fun, the dinner, talking, the walk along the beach...and, what happened that night." Lexi trailed off as she said the last part. "...to be honest, I don't regret a thing!" She smiled as she hugged Ace tighter.

Ace smiled as he put his arms round Lexi. "Yeah, the days after were great too."

_Flashback_

Ace woke up to a sun-kissed room. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the blinding light that met his eyes, after a few moments he could clearly see around Lexi's room. It looked different from the dimly lit room he had seen briefly the night before, now the streams of sunlight could illuminate the room so differently and Ace could see the clothes from their previous outing strewn across the floor.

He smiled as he remembered and turned to his right to see the digital clock on the bedside cabinet.

5:32.

Ace sighed, and this time, turned the opposite direction to let his gaze rest upon the figure sleeping close against his shoulder.

Ace smiled when she snuggled closer to him. Her ruffled hair fell delicately over her face as she slept peacefully next to him. This only made him even more hesitant to wake her, but thought it would be best to do so before the others woke up.

Ace leant up on his arm and stared down at Lexi as he gently stroked her. She opened her eyes and looked up at Ace who was smiling down at her.

"Morning." Ace said as he bent down to kiss her.

Lexi smiled and closed her eyes, letting him continue. She smiled as he got back up and stared down at her.

"I think we should probably get up." Ace suggested glumly.

"Good idea." Lexi replied.

She briefly looked under the covers and remembered what she was wearing. Nothing.

"Um...Ace, could you pass me something to wear?" She asked.

Ace blushed. He had already put on his boxers the night before after Lexi had fallen asleep. He looked around and leant over the side of the hammock. He picked up his shirt that he wore from the previous night, and passed it to her.

Once Lexi had put Ace's shirt on, she stood up next to him. Although they were similar in size, Ace's shirt easily acted like a short dress on his female companion, reaching half way down her thigh. The sleeves covered half of her hands, and the ruffled collar only just covered her _chest area. __  
_

Ace couldn't help but snicker at how small the shirt made her look.

"Hey, stop that!" Lexi joked as she walked towards Ace. "I'm gonna take a shower, I'll be back in a minute."

She kissed him on the cheek before taking her uniform and going to the bathroom.


	8. Suspicions

**(This is still the flashback from when the two woke up!)**

* * *

So...You OK?" Ace asked after he too had taken a shower.

"Err, yeah. Why?" Lexi walked over to Ace. Both of them were now dressed in their uniforms and were now standing in Lexi's room.

Ace blushed and took Lexi by the waist and smiled down at her. "Well, with...umm, what we did, I er...Look I just want to make sure you're okay."

She chuckled. "Well it's not like we can take it back now!"

"Well, yeah I know that, but, I just don't want you to feel...I don't know, uncomfortable or get worried or...."

"Now hold up one second!" Lexi interrupted him. "What are you talking abou...wait, are you...do you mean, you're worried that I'm..."

Ace nodded. "Look, Lexi, I just don't want you to find out and then not tell me or something. I love you and you can tell me anything. I don't want to be the fault of you getting worked up about something you can't control." Ace had a serious tone to his voice that made Lexi look down, she too was now contemplating whether or not she could be carrying something that was merely the fault of their growing relationship.

"Why don't we get some breakfast?" Ace suggested. Snapping Lexi out of her thoughts and grinning at her contently.

"Okay, Let's go." Lexi smiled. She and Ace cautiously checked around the door to make sure none of the others noticed them coming out of the same room.

"All clear." Lexi stated, she had used her amplified hearing to ensure no-one was coming.

"But of course we both know who is already up!" Ace joked as he and Lexi entered the kitchen to find Tech sitting with a cup of coffee, reading the morning newspaper.

"The two of you are up bright and early, and...oddly at the same time." Tech slowed down as he said the last of his sentence, not from fatigue but more for his sudden realisation. "So, er...strange how you're both up at the same time..." Tech said as he rose from his seat and walked over to the two bunnies.

Ace and Lexi exchanged glances, they both new that although Tech was a genius, he wasn't an expert at relationships. Ace stood he ground whereas Lexi suddenly found the fruit bowl on the table a fascinating object, and while the visual _confrontation _was going on, decided it would be best to stay quiet.

"Well..." Ace started, he wasn't sure of what excuse to use.

"Do you guys have any idea how loud you snore!" Lexi diverted Tech's suspicious gaze over Ace. "I mean, how am I ever going to sleep, super hearing may be great on missions, but getting to sleep, obviously wasn't part of the deal. "I guess, for his own reason Ace must've woken up, I only got up because I couldn't sleep anymore." Lexi lied.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Ace wink at her, unbeknown to Tech, she knew what Ace was thinking.

_Nice one Lex._

* * *

**Wow the Loonatic's are crazy psychics!**

**The Next chapter has a bit more action and Dialogue (For anyone who prefurs that!)**


	9. Trouble At The Bridge Part 1

**Okay, Sorry for the delay, but I finally have the next chapter written! (Me) *Big Goofy Grin***

**Thanks to everyone who has shown their appreciation either by reviewing, or just by reading! Cookies to you all!**

**Not really, you do NOT want to try my cooking! LOL**

* * *

After Tech's suspicions had been blind-sighted by Lexi's excuse and the arrival of the rest of the team. They all sat down for breakfast. Lexi and Ace, though it wasn't unusual, sat by each other. Duck, yet again was spending the time to rant over how he would make a better leader than Ace.

"I just think that..."

"Duck, give it a rest! Ace will always be out leader." Tech sighed and continued to read the newspaper.

"Well-not-technically-because-one-day-something-could-happen-and-I-of-course-don't-want-it-to-but-Ace-could-oneday-Di..."

"Rev, we all get the point. And god forbid that anything does happen to him." Lexi smiled. Though, the others didn't notice her move closer to Ace as if for comfort. He smiled warmly as they started a game of 'Footsy' under the table.

--

The Loonatics had already eaten their morning meal and had vacated the breakfast table to entertain themselves.

Soon after the team had separated to do their separate things, they overheard the morning news of a man, who was believed to have 'Super-Human Strength', who was terrorising the City's motorists as he stood on a bridge over Acme-Bay and was tossing cars over the edge. Leaving the citizens in sheer terror as they attempted to leave their cars and the bridge.

"Okay gang. Someone's gotta teach this guy some manners. Let's Jet" Ace commanded as he and the rest of the team boarded one of Tech's jets and flew off towards the bridge.

--

"Slam, you, Rev and Duck get everyone out of here, while the rest of us stop this Lunatic from droppin' any more cars!"

"Consider it done!" Duck answered heroically as he, Slam and Rev started to round up the civilians.

Ace turned back to Tech and Lexi. "Okay, Slam's one of the fastest here, but he's also the strongest, and until he helps get everyone off the bridge we've got to distract this guy!"

"Good plan chief!" Tech said as he picked up a fire hydrant using his magnetic powers and threw it at the villain.

The villain immediately dropped a car in front of him and started to walk menacingly towards the three Anthros.

The villain then addressed himself as 'Colossus' in a deep voice that matched the appearance of his rather built body, cold, dark and intimidating. "So!" He said, eyeing the trio, scanning all of them up and down "You're the mighty Loonatics. You don't looks so tough, especially pinkie here." Colossus pointed at Lexi and received a cold glare from her.

Immediately Colossus raised an arm to whack Lexi away, realising this, Ace grabbed Lexi and pushed her behind him. The blow sending him flying; painfully, quickly…and straight off the bridge.

Lexi screamed at the sight "ACE!"

* * *

**Dun dun Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh**

**Hey I finally got this chapter done with a big cliff-hanger! (Kind- of Literally!)**

**Now I just get to write the next part, whooh (Sarcasm!)**

**Anyway, please review, you don't have to, but it would be nice if you could, seriously I'm not threatening, I'm weak. I couldn't even break a Kit Kat in half! (But I won't go into that, Long story short, it wasn't refrigerated I couldn't break it, and my friends laughed at me!!!)**

**No hurt feelings though, it was funny!**

**Anyway, where was I?**

**Oh yeah, next chapter will be up…..Some other time?!**


	10. Trouble At The Bridge Part 2

**Ok, after much anticipation from people at and LUO, I have updated, with the other half of the cliff-hanger!!!!**

Completely disregarding the threat Colossus was to her; Lexi immediately ran to the side of the bridge and looked down with a mixture of worry and fear for Ace.

Peering down carefully into the murky bay-water, Lexi could just make out the tips of Ace's ears as he sank in the water. She noticed the air-bubbles emerging and popping at the surface of the bay.

She knew that if he could've, Ace would've swum up by now. Looking for advice she turned her head back to her Team-mates who stood struggling, trying to apprehend Colossus.

Tech noticed her worried gaze. Her eyes lining with tears, her chest inflating rapidly as she hyperventilated. Her body was tensed and she looked like she was struggling to keep herself from passing out.

Bracing himself from the strength and weight of Colossus, Tech called out to Lexi, his voice growling in hatred of their new found foe. "Go!"

Lexi didn't even hesitate, not looking back, not looking down; she dived off the edge of the bridge, her ears and ribbon flapping as the breeze swept by her tensed but relaxed body. The rain that was now falling, created ripples that seemed to dance in front of her eyes, making her slightly bewildered and dizzy. Ignoring this she stayed focussed; she had to find him, quickly and carefully. She hit the cold water almost silently, the force of her dive, surging her thought the ever darkening depths of the bay. She evaded the freezing, and dangerous water temperature she was exposing herself to as she searched for one person in particular.

Small particles and air-bubbles floated upwards through the cloudy water and Lexi began to wonder if she would ever find Ace. Almost making her lose the oxygen she was holding in, Lexi jumped as something grabbed her wrist. On instinct, she tried to pull away, but to no avail, she spun herself around in the water, wondering how easy it would be to beat up the thing under-water. Her impending thoughts were disregarded however, as she was met with the sight of Ace. He looked like he needed to go up for air in a matter of moments and signalled to Lexi that that was what they needed to do.

Still clutching Lexi's wrist, Ace swam quickly though the water, with Lexi an arm's length behind. He broke the surface, taking in a lungful of air as he did. It felt amazing; to come so close to the end and to oppose the reason you were to lose your life. Ace smiled as he felt the muscles in his lungs open up, and allow the life-giving gas to pass through them. Next to him, Lexi too broke the surface, and rubbed her eyes to remove the dirty water from them.

"Lex, are you okay?" Ace asked as he tread water, panting as he did so.

"Am I okay, Ace you could've been killed!" Lexi began to shout and Ace looked slightly taken aback.

"Lexi I…"

"Don't even start that, why did you do that?"

"Lex, he was a big guy, he could've killed you!" Ace calmed down, he knew she would understand, at least he hoped.

"Me! What about you?" Lexi was still shouting and started thrashing in the water. "What do you think I would've done if something happened to you?"

"Not what you just did!" Ace's voice was laced with authority as he grabbed hold of Lexi's shoulders and wrapped his arms around her.

Still furious, Lexi looked at Ace. He had pulled her right against him. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping us warm. It's dangerous in this water." Ace glared at Lexi. "…And, with you thrashing around like that, you're gonna lose energy."

Lexi's glare softened as she realised this, shouldn't she be excited right now? Being this close to him, again? "Thanks."

Ace smiled. "No. I should be the one thanking you. You saved my life comin' down here!"

"But you were fine when I found you, you were conscious?"

"Yeah, I have no idea what happened, but I actually thought he must've hit you down as well, that's why I pulled you up so quickly."

"Oh." Lexi looked down, as if in guilt. "Thanks, for everything then, you saved me, a lot."

"Don't worry about it, that's what team-mates do, but we're a little past that!" Ace smiled and moved his head and kissed Lexi, but he pulled away suddenly. "Lexi, you're freezing, you need to get home!" He looked concerned, Lexi's smile slowly withered away as she realised he was right, she was cold, shivering to be accurate.

As if on cue, the two wet bunnies were teleported to the top of the bridge by Duck, where they were met with the sight of a tired looking team, a completely wrecked road, a pile of shattered cars and a trust-up, angry-looking Colossus.

"Woah-Ace-are-you-okay?-you-were-just-completely-knocked-off-the-bridge!-and-Lexi-that-was-so-cool-the-way-you-just-dived-in-like-that-so-you-two-are-ok-that's-totally-sweet-sweet-sweet!"

"Err, yeah that's great Rev!" Ace said slowly, as he tried to work out what his avian friend just said. "But we should probably get home; we can let the cops take this guy to the pokey." Ace said, rather cheerfully, his teeth chattered slightly as he spoke. That happening, reminded him of Lexi, who stood with her arms crossed over her chest in an attempt to keep herself warm. "We should probably get Lex checked out." He turned his attention to Tech as he said this.

**A bit of a strange ending to a chapter, and quite dramatic at parts but, hey, it's a romance FanFic!**


	11. Home Alone

Back at HQ, Tech had suggested to Lexi to take a bath and try and warm herself up, and to tell him if she got cold or felt sick. She complied, and while she was occupied, the rest of the team sat in the main-room, reflecting on the mission they just had, like they usually did.

"So, what exactly happened?" Duck looked at Ace and gestured his head towards the Bathroom where Lexi was.

Ace suddenly froze up. _Does he know what we did? Does he know what happened last night? _

Tech noticed Ace's strange behaviour, combined with what had happened that morning, made him slightly suspicious. He knew they went on a date the previous night, and he had seen Lexi kiss Ace, something which he hadn't objected to. Which was understandable, they had probably locked lips already, that and Lexi was hot, in his opinion. But something didn't seem right; Lexi staying totally silent when he had asked them why they had both got up at the same time, then coming up with quite a…_interesting _excuse. Not to mention Lexi diving into the freezing bay-water earlier, without a second thought for her own safety. And now, Ace had frozen up after Duck had asked him a simple question, the Scientist, though he wasn't an expert in the love-field, knew Ace had something to hide, something Tech knew he would probably find out. Soon.

"Umm-Ace?" Rev was looking straight at Ace, he too noticed his strange behaviour, not in as much detail as Tech, but, being quite smart too, Rev also was slightly suspicious over Ace.

Suddenly Ace came back to them; he slightly jumped upon seeing the Roadrunner's quizzical stare and wondered what they though of his 'Possum-like' behaviour.

"What do you mean Duck?" Ace asked, slightly coldly. _I can't let them find out. Not yet._

"I mean, when Lex just dived off like that! She must've been pretty darn worried."

"Wow Duck, I've never known you to be so empathetic. I was and am fine. I think I was only unconscious for a few seconds. But when I saw her down there too I thought Colossus had hit her down there as well." Ace answered this more calmly, besides, he was telling the truth.

"Why were you so worried about her?"

"Better question than that Duck," Tech turned his head from Duck to Ace. "…Why'd you push Lex back like that, why did YOU take the hit for her?"

All eyes now turned to their leader, who gave Tech a cold glare before answering. "Damn it Tech! What would you've done? We all know she's not as strong as us, that blow could've killed her! I had to take that hit, for her. I'm okay, but she might not have been if I hadn't done that!"

Listening to the conversation with the help of her amplified hearing, Lexi sighed. Not from relief, not from anger. She was glad Ace hadn't told them what they had done, they shouldn't know, they didn't need to know. Hearing what Ace had just said, well, more shouted, made Lexi feel happy but nervous at the same time. Happy, because she knew he meant what he said, and he had really done it as an act to save her life, he was willing to get himself hurt or even killed for her. But part of her felt nervous. She had never heard Ace shout like that, especially not at one of his friends. And she was worried that Tech might have figured it out, and upon getting no-where with Ace, interrogated her instead. Would she be able to lie to him? Or would she blow their secret? Would the others get angry, at Ace, or even her?

Getting out of the bath and wrapping herself up with a towel, Lexi heard footsteps approaching the Bathroom, jumping at the possible thought of one of them walking in on her, Lexi checked to see if the door was locked. She let out a relieved sigh when she realised it was. She started to get changed back into her uniform, moments later she heard a knock, looking down at herself; She was practically dressed but was still without her shirt, she then looked back at the door, Lexi knew she shouldn't really answer it. "I'm not decent!" She called out, before slapping her hand over her mouth after she realised what she had said.

She heard the person on the person on the other side shuffle uncomfortably and stutter before answering. "Sorry, err…"

It was Duck, trying to get his answer straight, after hearing the…_strange _answer from the other side of the Bathroom door.

Lexi sighed and rolled her eyes, thankful that the usual big-headed water-fowl hadn't spat out an uncomfortable comment at her answer. She quickly dressed and prepared to leave.

After collecting himself and deciding to wait until she was with him to talk to Lexi, Duck leant against the Bathroom door. He jumped as the two thick, steel doors slid towards the door-frame, a rush of warm-humid air emerging as the dumbfounded Duck collected himself after falling to the ground at Lexi's feet. She too had jumped in surprise, but simply looked down at him and giggled. Duck scowled and muttered something that, surprisingly Lexi didn't catch, He stood up heroically in an attempt to regain is composure. Lexi rolled her eyes and headed towards her room.

While Lexi sorted out some things she had brought back from the Bathroom, Duck stood uncomfortably at the door. Lexi glanced up at him before sighing. "You know you can come in."

Duck looked around before entering. Like Ace, he took in his surroundings, not in too much detail as Lexi was there and he didn't want to be perceived as a snoop.

Lexi sat down on her hammock and looked at Duck questionably. "So…What was that you were gonna ask me?"

Duck looked at her, dumbfounded. "What?"

"You know, in the bathroom, me in there, you outside. Remember?"

"Oh! Right, I thought you were implying something else." Duck laughed as he said this.

Lexi gave him a confused, but comical look and she giggled slightly. "Yeah, I'm taken Duck."

He smiled and took a step forward. "We're gonna go out for dinner."

"Are we?" Lexi replied, surprised. They didn't usually go out for dinner; they usually made something or ordered in. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothin' really, we just thought it would be cool."

Lexi half smiled at this, and shivered slightly. "I think it'll have to be a guy's night out. I'm still a bit cold from my 'dip in the bay.'"

Duck looked a bit surprised but nodded and left.

Lexi sighed and fell back against her hammock. Shutting her eyes, she heard the confused voices of her team-mates. She sighed and new what would come. Ace would knock on her door and convince her to come while she would feel guilty for denying the request. As if on cue, the firm knock of Ace on her door woke her from her attempted-rest.

"Lex, can I come in?" Ace's voice sounded against the door.

"Yeah, sure." Lexi sat up and collected herself. Ace came in and sat himself next to her. "What's wrong?" He asked. Lexi rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

"I'm just a bit cold. You guys go out, be free from all fetters of femininity!" She replied cheerfully. Ace smiled. "We try to block it out anyway!"

Lexi giggled and punched him lightly on the arm. "You guys go, I'll be fine here."

Ace raised an eyebrow and this time, seemed concerned. "Are you sure you'll be okay. We could all stay in…or one of us could stay home with you?"

Lexi laughed. "I'll be fine Ace, I'm a big girl!"

Ace smiled and stood up. "Fine then." He started towards the bedroom door, Lexi following behind. He turned around abruptly and looked at her. He smiled and pulled her towards him, pressing is lips against hers. He felt her smile as he pulled away. "Remember." He pointed at his wrist communicator. "…call if there's any trouble."

"I promise." Lexi smiled, and Ace left, the automatic doors closing behind him, Leaving Lexi home-alone.

--

"So, why'd Lexi stay home?" Tech asked, not looking up from the menu he was reading.

The 5 of the Loonatics had come to a popular restaurant near to the tower. Ace had convinced them that they had to eat somewhere close by, since they walked over, they didn't want to delay their return, or Lexi if she called to say that she was in trouble.

"She was still cold from the Bay-incident." Duck said this monotonly and didn't look up from his menu.

Ace looked up from his menu and stared blankly into the centre of their rounded table. "Do you think Lexi'll be okay?"

The rest of the team looked up at him, "She'll be fine!" They all said in unison, though, slightly louder than they had intended, as they now stared guiltily at the crowd of people who now stared at them. Each Loonatic grinned sheepishly before diving back into their menus to hide their embarrassment, and their faces if any of the media happened to be close by.

"You're all despicable." Duck murmured, before Slam roughly stepped on his foot. "Oww!" Duck yelped, "What did I say?"

--

Lexi sighed as she flopped back onto the couch, waiting for her food to cook in the oven.

Glancing over to her left, Lexi reluctantly picked up the TV remote. Flipping through the channels, something caught Lexi's eye, and she immediately scrolled back through the channels and tuned in to the snazzy add that now played.

It showed a new 'mega structure' that had apparently just been built in the centre of Acmetropolis. The advertisement showed the grand rooms of a new hotel resort, it was 5 star and all the rooms were marble finished and polished thoroughly. The grand meeting room had a spectacular, glittering chandelier in the centre of the ceiling, and a large stage next to a bar at the front.

It wasn't necessarily the grand rooms of the beautiful hotel, that caught Lexi's attention, but more the designer and owner name of the new structure. 'Le Pew, Magnefique' Lexi couldn't control her erupting laughter, being quite fluent in languages, she could, on the spot work out what it translated into: 'The Magnificent Skunk.' Lexi stopped her hysterical fit as she, immediately new the owner, even before the man himself appeared on screen, advertising the new resort.

Names of special guests began to list on the screen. Lexi was about to turn of the TV when she froze. The name clearly listed a few rows above the central name. 'The Loonatics'

Lexi sat silently for a moment, before scowling and turning off the TV. She sat back against the sofa and closed her eyes, only then realising the slightly smoky smell coming from the Kitchen.

"Awww, Dang it!" Lexi sighed as she ran to the oven.

--

The hours passed as the five males of the team finished their meals and were walking back to HQ.

"We should go to that place more often!" Duck started gleefully. The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, only it was a little too crowded for my liking." Tech said, slightly grumpily.

Ace chuckled at this, "you really need to get out more, Tech. But Duck's right, maybe we could go there for Rev's birthday?" Ace turned back to Rev as he said this.

Upon hearing the words "Rev's Birthday" The mentioned bird jumped hyperactively and Ace immediately regretted what he had said.

"Oh-yeah-Ace-I-almost-forgot-about-my-own-birthday-which-is-silly-really-but-I-guess-with-the-big-incident-today-it-just-slipped-my-mind-that's-a-good-offer-though,-I-mean-going-to-the-restaurant,-not-fighting-monsters-and-stuff-all-day-for-my-birthday,-that-would-be-crazy,-I-did-though,-have-another-idea-for-my-birthday,-it's-tommorrow-so-I-guess-we'll-have-enough-time-to-plan-for-it!" Rev's smile grew and grew as he continued his rant, and by the time he was finished, the Loonatics' let out a sigh of relief when they realised, through Rev's speech, they had already arrived at the Elevator to the tower.

The 5 Loonatics stepped inside the elevator and began their ascent to the top of their home.

Rev, being the fastest had run to the door as soon as their elevator doors had opened. In his fast paced manor, he knocked repeatedly on the door, but no-one answered. He started to get worried, and as soon as the others had caught up to him, he told them what was going on. "Guys-I-think-something's-wrong-with-Lexi-, she-hasn't-answered-the-door-yet,-what-if-something-happened-to-her?" Rev seemed very worried.

"Relax Rev, she's probably just gone to bed, it's gone 12:00 anyway." Ace calmly stated. He input the access code and the 5 Loonatics stepped inside.

Immediately, Ace started for Lexi's room, upon realising no-one was in their main-room. Quietly, so that the others wouldn't hear and become suspicious, Ace input the access code for Lexi's room. He quietly and quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

He turned around slowly and made his way over to Lexi's hammock, but upon listening carefully, heard no breathing. Worriedly he felt around the hammock only to find it empty. Ace stood momentarily, trying to contemplate where she could be, suddenly, realisation hit him, as he remembered how, after their 'Get-together' last night, he said that she could sleep in his bed so they could be together.

Ace carefully listened against Lexi's door; her super-hearing really would've come in handy right now. Soon he heard the sounds of 3 doors closing, and someone walking past the door and into the next room.

Almost silently Ace slipped through Lexi's door and across the corridor into his own. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard her steady breathing, and vaguely saw her form in his bed, her chest rising and falling with every breath. He smiled and turned into his bathroom to clean his teeth and change into is night clothes.

When he was finished, he quietly walked across to the side of the bed that was vacant. The added weight, and slight noise that Lexi's super hearing picked up, alerted her to the presence of another person.

"Ace?" She mumbled, still tired. She sat up to try and identify the shape of the person or thing that was next to her, ready to fight it if need be.

Ace sat up and greeted her with a kiss, Lexi was still unconvinced as to whether this person was Ace or not, considering that they hadn't spoken yet. She kept on her guard. Once he pulled away, Ace smiled. "It is me you know." As if he'd read her mind.

Lexi smiled and shook her head slightly, "Why wouldn't it be?" And she chuckled at her own stupidity.

"Hey, at least you were being wary." Ace commented, it seemed as though he was reading her mind like a book.

"Okay, are you developing some new power or something, you seem to know exactly what I'm thinking?"

Ace chuckled. "Maybe, but I feel like we're closer at the moment."

"Well, yeah. With all that's happened the past couple of days, we certainly are."

"I know that." Ace became slightly serious now. "But something seems…different, like we're closer still?"

Lexi giggled and decided to change the subject slightly. "Wow Ace, you've finally cracked!"

Ace chuckled at this and playfully pushed her down, while he remained where he was. He was surprised at how easy it was for him to move her; he knew she was the lightest in the team, partially because of the gender difference, but still. "Wow Lexi, you are weak!"

He heard Lexi playfully gasp and then felt her punch him, though it did little harm to him, not that she would ever attempt to hurt him. "Awww, dang it I am." Lexi smiled.

Ace grinned before turning himself around so that he could face her where she was. He swiftly pinned her shoulders down and raised and eyebrow "Let's see if you can get out of that."

Lexi hesitated, thinking, she quickly reached up as far as she could, because of Ace's hold on her shoulders, and began to tickle him.

Ace however, didn't even flinch. Lexi frowned and retreated her hands. She frowned slightly. "You're not ticklish?"

Ace smiled. "No. Reacting to being tickled, is different for some people, it happens because of the body's reaction to someone, or something else's touch. The body naturally tenses up, so the movement of someone's fingers can give a strange sensation, some people throw up, some get angry…some laugh."

Lexi rolled her eyes, "Great, so you're a crazy psychic, and now you've become amazingly smart. Who are you and what having you done with Ace?"

Ace couldn't hold in his laughter at her monotone response.

Lexi laughed along too. "Wait, so with all that tickling mumbo-jumbo, how come you don't _react_ to it and I do?"

Ace smirked. "Because I trust you, and I know you're not going to hurt me. But thanks for giving me an idea."

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "Wait what ide…!" Lexi was interrupted as Ace started to tickle her relentlessly.

"Ace! Please....stop...I...can't....Ace!" Lexi giggled as she tried to catch her breath through her laughter.

Ace smiled as she squirmed around in his grasp. Lexi pulled her legs up to her chest to try and defend her stomach, but she couldn't help but slightly kick out. Tickling had always been one of her weaknesses.

Ace eventually stopped, and Lexi let out a sigh, and tried to catch her breath, Ace chuckled and lay down next to her.

"…I would've pushed you off me, if I was strong enough." Lexi seemed slightly hurt.

Ace stared up and the ceiling, but felt Lexi look at him, he turned and faced her. Lexi smiled and shuffled closer to him until she could place her head on his chest. He put his arm round her and smiled, he knew she was smiling too. "I love you just the way you are, Lex."


	12. Getting Ready

**Well I've go another long chapter here for you all!**

* * *

Something seemed different.

Well at least that's what Lexi thought. She felt disorientated, waking up in someone else's room.

She breathed in the faint smell of colone coming from Ace. She smiled when she thought of him, she always felt safe around him, knowing he would do anything he could to keep her safe. She nestled her head into Ace's chest and sighed happily. The sudden movement must've woke Ace up, but suddenly after he did so, Lexi lurched upwards and froze.

Ace looked alarmed and put his hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Sshhhh!" Lexi whispered, and she gestured her head towards the bedroom door. "Someone's coming"

Ace quietly got out of bed, still in his pyjamas, just as the person on the other-side of the door knocked on it, Ace turned to Lexi and signalled for her to wait in the bathroom for the moment.

Ace soon turned to the door and pressed a button mounted on the wall that opened it; There stood the hyper-active road-runner of the team, still pyjama clad like the tired looking coyote next to him, Rev, who stood bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, with an ear-to-ear grin stretched across his face.

Ace winced when he started to talk. "Hey-Ace-Can-you-remember-what-today-is?"

Ace couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the road-runner's question, how much of a young child he sounded like. Ace casually leant on the door and folded his arms against his chest. "Oh I don't know Rev, why don't you tell me?" Ace raised an eyebrow and Tech smirked. Tech, for once considering what he was wearing, must've slept in his own bed rather than the bed, or desk in his lab.

"Well-duh-Ace-it's-my-birthday-remember-we-were-talking-about-it-last-night?-Oh-yeah-and-I-need-to-tell-you-what-I-want-us-to-do-for-it-today.-I-know-I'll-just-tell-you-all-now,-I-can't-wait!"

Ace and Tech simultaneously flinched as Rev ran wildly around the corridor they were standing in, pounding on each door as he passed. After he had done this at least 4 times he stopped and stood a few feet in front of Tech and Ace.

Within moments a groggy looking Duck and a grumbling Slam emerged from their rooms and stared blankly at Tech and Ace who were equally stunned.

"Geez what's with the early wake up call Rev?" Duck grumbled. He stomped over to Rev and pressed a finger to his chest. "Can't a guy get some rest at…at…?" Duck glanced at the wall clock in Ace's room, whose door was still open, "…4:57 in the morning. What! I'm going back to bed"

"Rev, what's this all about?" Tech yawned, pulling the retreating Duck back.

"Wait- Wait- Wait- Wait- Wait- Wait- Wait- Wait- Wait-Tech." Rev shook his hands in an alarmed manner. "Lexi's not here."

Ace gulped and froze. If Rev and the others didn't find Lexi in her room, and in Ace's room instead, there would be trouble, everything would add up, and it wouldn't be long until they worked out what was going on between the two of them. This was something Ace couldn't let happen, not yet.

"Oh come on guys, let's just let her sleep. She'll get up when she's ready."

The rest of the team turned to look at their leader. Ace felt like he was sweating bullets, and hoped no-one could see his panic-stricken features.

"True…" Duck announced. Ace jumped slightly, but sighed in relief once he realised what Duck had said. "…I mean, we all know what Lexi's like if she's woken up in the morning, she's worse than me!"

The rest of the team chuckled at Duck's remark before deciding to make their way to the main room to make breakfast.

"I'll be back in a minute." Ace called back to the group as he made for his bedroom. He swiftly checked around the corner before entering his room and jogging to his bathroom, inside Lexi stood next to the shower leaning on the wall, she smiled when Ace entered.

"What took ya?"

"…Just a little run-in with the runner." Ace smiled. Lexi walked towards him and rolled her eyes. Ace put his arm around Lexi and they started to leave the Bathroom. "I can't wait to see what he wants us to do!" Lexi chuckled, sarcastically.

The two walked into the kitchen and were greeted by the rest of the team, who were all still pyjama clad.

The two took up their places at the kitchen table, where all eyes focused on Rev, who was obviously trying to contain his excitement.

"So…" Ace started, he tensed up slightly when Rev looked at him, obviously realising that as soon as he said the word, Rev would not stop talking…for a long time.

Rev eyed Ace intently, the rest of the team did the same, but more in a slightly nervous fashion than excitement.

"…What are we doing today?" Ace finished.

"Well-Ace-I'm-glad-you-asked-because-I-was-thinking-that-actually-it-could-be-a-two-or-maybe-even-a-three-day-thing-we-could-do-as-a-team.- At-first-I-thought-we-could-go-on-a-cruise-but-then-I-remembered-that-Lexi-gets-really-sea-sick-and-it-just-wouldn't-be-fair-on-her,-so-then-I-thought-of-something-I-always-used-to-do-with-my-family,-that-We've-never-done-as-a-team-before-and-I-really-really-really-really-really-really-really-really-really-really-Would-like-us-to-do-it-as-a-team-because-it's-really-fun!" Rev finally finished, he now looked at his dumbfounded team with anxiety.

"Well, er that's great Rev…" Tech started.

"…And considerate" Lexi smiled at Rev who returned the gesture.

"…But, you never actually told us what you _decided _we should do." Ace said weakly, as he finished Tech's original statement.

Rev stood for a minute, blankly, and looked as if he was thinking. "…Oh-yeah-I-forgot-about-that-part, whoops!" He blushed. The rest of the team just smiled and shook their heads.

"I-was-thinking-that-as-a-team-we-could-all-go-camping!-I've-already-found-a-great-spot-in-a-reserve-out-of-the-city,-It-would-be-a-great-opportunity-for-us-to-leave-the-busy-city-life-and-take-a-chance-to-be-in-touch-with-nature!"

"Well I say we're already in good touch with nature, I mean all we have to do is switch the TV onto the nature channel and Voila!" Duck scowled, distastefully.

"Duck!" Lexi hissed. "I think it would be…cool, to go as a team!" Lexi smiled. The whole team, minus Rev who grinned gleefully, stared at Lexi with a mixture of amazement and disbelief. "My family used to go camping all the time! Only, my dad would never let my sister and me out of his sight…which sucked."

"Well…I guess Lexi's right, it would be cool, especially as a team, we could share past stories and…stuff" Ace smiled.

"…So-It's-a-yes?" Rev jumped up and down anxiously. Ace hesitated for a moment and studied the rest of the team's faces, they all seemed pretty happy about the idea, save Duck, and he couldn't resist Lexi's smile, how could he say no to that? "Okay Rev, It's a yes. We could give you your presents there too!"

As if he never even heard the rest of Ace's answer, Rev sped of to his room. Some bangs, bumps and crashes could be heard coming from Rev's room, even without the need for super-hearing, and with every crash and bump the team flinched, and Ace slightly regretted his answer.

"…Well, then." Tech seemed slightly alarmed, "I guess _we _should get packing too" He finished, getting up, the rest of the team following his example.

"Abdn jfidpgi dgidog dksfjsfksll!" Slam grumbled.

Ace chuckled "Don't worry Slam; _we _won't make that much noise packing!"

The rest of the team separated into their individual rooms to begin packing for their trip.

* * *

"Hey Ace, Where's the first aid kit?" Lexi asked as she walked into Ace's room.

"First aid kit?" Ace jumped, and began to inspect her, "Why, what…why do you need a first aid kit?"

Lexi giggled, and pushed Ace away slightly. "I don't need it, _we_ need it."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, camping, we might need a first aid kit. You know how Duck, Rev and Slam can be sometimes!"

Ace chuckled, "True, it's in the Kitchen. Cupboard above the sink, third shelf up, you can't miss it."

"It sounds like you're giving me directions?" Lexi pressed up against Ace.

"Yeah, I guess it does" He smiled. "I've got one in the bathroom cupboard if we should take two?"

Lexi stepped back. "Good idea!" She smiled and kissed him quickly before walking to his bathroom.

Ace smiled and continued to pack his bag, soon Lexi returned, carrying what looked like a green lunch-box with a white lid and a red-cross on the front of it. Lexi set the first aid kit down on Ace's bed and, after a moment's hesitation, sat down too.

Ace looked up at her and smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Watchin' you. You need a hand?" Lexi folded one leg up onto the bed and rested her arms on it.

Ace looked around his room, thinking. "Could you grab my compass?"

"Sure." Lexi got up and walked to Ace's cupboard. Before stopping and turning around, she stared at Ace quizzically.

"What?" Ace asked, surprised as to why she would be staring at him like that.

"Why do we need a compass?"

Ace smiled. "So we don't get lost, I thought you were smart Lexi?"

Lexi playfully stuck out her tongue, before turning round and grabbing the compass. Once she had it, Lexi turned around again and walked over to Ace, and placing the compass in his bag. "I mean." She continued. "Why do we need a compass if we have built-in ones in our uniforms?"

"Well you didn't think we were going camping in out work clothes did you?"

"Good point!" Lexi smiled. She looked down at Ace's bag, "You want me to sit on that?"

Ace looked up at her, and gave her a strange look. "What do you mean?"

"You know, so you can actually get the thing shut" Lexi smiled. "I had to ask Slam to help me shut _my_ case." Lexi blushed slightly, but Ace smiled and shook his head slightly.

"Nah, I think I can manage. I'm not as weak as you!" Ace smiled, before pulling Lexi against him and tickling her, just like the previous night.

"No! Ace…please…stop that tickles!" Lexi giggled.

Ace smiled as he watched her squirm around laughing, but he continued to tickle her mercilessly nonetheless. Ace almost dropped Lexi, however, when Rev burst into the room, carrying two bulging bags. He was wearing a red and black chequered shirt, Beige ¾ length jeans, hiking boots and what appeared to be a fishing hat, and fishing gear.

Lexi continued to giggle slightly and attempt to catch her breath until she realised Rev was standing at Ace's door. Now the two bunnies stared guiltily at Rev who gave them a puzzled stare before fully coming into the room.

"What-are-you-two-doing-in-here?" Rev asked. "Lexi-you-seem-a-bit-giggly-and-you're-on-the-floor." He switched his attention to Lexi, and then to Ace as he said this. "Is-everything-okay?" He said, eyeing Ace, surprisingly slowly.

"Yeah Rev, I'm fine." Lexi said as Ace and Rev helped her up. "I was just asking Ace where the first aid kit was…" She looked at Ace slightly guiltily. "…and then…" She tried to think of an excuse. She couldn't tell him that they just had a tickling _incident. _

"…She fell over" Ace finished quickly, he winked at Lexi, who just smirked in response. "…and that was what was so funny, Rev."

Rev, for a moment, looked slightly unconvinced, but shrugged it off, literally. "So are you two done then?"

It was only then that Lexi realised that both Ace and Rev were already changed and ready, realising she was still in her pyjamas she blushed suddenly. "Umm…I just need to…you know…do…stuff?" Soon Lexi made for the door, while Ace and Rev grabbed their bags and headed for the main-room.

In the main room of their HQ, Ace and Rev were greeted by Tech and Slam, who were also dressed, standing by their bags. Slam, who stood with five bags next to him, was to carry three, due to his size and strength, the rest, Ace figured, must be Lexi's.

Ace eyes what everyone was wearing, and realised how much of a 'country club' group they must've looked like. Ace himself was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a green and white shirt, and a pair of white and green trainers (Sneakers). Tech was wearing a light and dark green chequered shirt, a pair of ¾ length jeans and green hiking boots. Slam was wearing an orange T-shirt with a pair of long, baggy grey shorts and grey hiking boots.

Soon the four males heard the sound of metal framing screeching against steel flooring, the floor surface later changing to carpet. Duck walked slowly, wearing a yellow polo shirt and baggy blue jeans and white trainers (sneakers) with his back to the team, dragging his obviously heavy back-pack through to the main room.

Seemingly annoyed by the noise and damage that was being done to the floor; Tech activated his powers and lifted the heavy and large bag into the air, and levitated it to the rest of the group.

Duck breathed a sigh of relief before collapsing onto the couch near Slam, his legs hanging off of the end of the large sofa.

"You know Duck, you are gonna have to carry that; onto the bus, the ferry and then of course through the forest until we get to the right spot…" Ace stood counting on his fingers, the amount of times Duck would have to carry his heavy bag on their trip. "…and then you'll have to put it in your tent, once you've made it up of course, and then you'll have to do the same, all the way back home." Ace sighed, the length of his _list _being too long for him to comfortably say it without losing too much oxygen.

Duck scowled and buried his head into the couch, "You're Despicable." Was muffled through the sofa, but still easy enough for the rabbit and the rest of the team to hear.

Tech sighed. "Try one of the bags Slam'll carry, see if it's easier to lift."

Duck roughly stood up, mocking the Canine's speech with a higher-pitched and slightly babyish version. "I'll be just fine with the bag I have, thank you very much! I'm not weak, I mean, it's not like I'm Lexi!"

Ace and the rest of the team glared at Duck, before pointing to Lexi, who stood with her arms crossed, obviously angry, behind Duck.

"What was that you said Duck?" Lexi grumbled. She wore a pair of denim blue shorts, White trainers (sneakers), and a white shirt that was undone, with the sleeves rolled up, showing a black vest underneath.

Duck laughed nervously before hiding behind Ace, who too was not impressed. Lexi rolled her eyes. "Don't worry guys, with luck he'll be eaten by a bear while we're gone."

The team chuckled before picking up their bags and preparing to leave HQ, with Rev bouncing up and down with excitement.

Ace put a hand on Lexi's shoulder; she jumped slightly before turning round. "You okay Lex?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah...I'm fine. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's bear season."

Ace smiled, the rest of the team who were listening by the door, minus Duck, chuckled and continued to watch. "You need a hand with your bags." Ace asked softly.

"No, I think I'm okay." Lexi replied, slinging a small bag over her arm and putting on the large back-pack she had to carry. She made a face of pain and yelped slightly when the bag pulled on her back, and she fell backwards a bit, the rest of the team jumping in surprise.

Before she could do any-more damage to her back, Ace grabbed one of the straps from on Lexi's shoulder and pulled the bag off her, holding it securely and easily with one hand.

"Wow." Lexi put a hand on the small of her back. "That's really gonna hurt in the morning!"

"You okay?" Ace asked, concerned over how much the bag would've strained on her.

"I think so." Lexi asked, but her voice trembled slightly, and she sounded unsure.

Tech came over and stood next to Ace, putting a hand on Lexi's back. "Can you move?"

Lexi straitened up and stepped forwards a few steps, before turning round and facing Tech and Ace. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"…You want one of us to carry your bag Lex?" Ace asked, putting his free arm on her shoulder.

Lexi looked guiltily at the rest of the team. "…But you guys have already got like, two, or even three bags to carry. It's not fair on you guys."

Ace looked concerned, but adjusted Lexi's bag and moved it from his hand up to his shoulder, as another bag was already on his back and one was on the floor by his feet. "Yeah, well it's not fair if you have to carry something you obviously are gonna struggle lifting, you might get hurt."

Lexi sighed, "Fine then. We should get going."

* * *


	13. Camping Trip Part 1

**Ok, I'm soooooooooo sorry I've taken so long to update!**

I've been a little sick over the past couple of days, despite the fact that slowly, but surely, it is warming up here! Yey!

Also, school's been a drag and for some reason I've been feeling oddly sad lately

But I am here with a new chapter!

So much for my 'stay ahead of everyone and write chapters in advance to avoid delay' thing, didn't work. But I shall try harder to ensure that I actually _rememer _to update.

Sorry about that...

But, Hopefully you will forgive me for delaying because of the above reasons. If not, I can only say that I'm sorry.

And without further ado, Here is:  


**Camping Trip, Part 1 **

**  
(BTW, This is _very _dramatic towards the end, but I was bored XD)**

**

* * *

**After a long day of catching buses and ferries, the Loonatics finally arrived at the reserve. Rev had already run off to find the best spot, a clearing in the forest, next to the river-bank, of a river that had been flowing for hundreds of years that was fed by a massive Lake on the edge of the reserve.

The sun was setting, making the sky turn beautiful shades of fiery reds and oranges, and near the top of the sky, dark and light purples, that faded out into small strips of Darkness. The stars had already started to become visible higher-up in the sky, but near to the light and fiery colours along the horizon, only birds, aircraft and dissipating clouds were visible.

"Wow, the sky looks amazing!" Lexi commented. "I've only seen sun-sets like this back home!"

"Huh, you must've lived a long way from Acmetropolis then." Duck sarcastically answered. He walked past carrying his heavy bag from earlier, as well as the tent he was now trying to figure out how to build.

"Hmm." Lexi grumbled.

"And don't worry Lexi; I'm sure_ I_ can help you with _your_ tent, of course only when I'm done making mine!" Duck sneered, only for his demeaning remark to be forgotten when one of the support sticks for his tent bent and whacked him in the face. "Oww." He grumbled.

"Oh, don't worry about that Duck" Lexi smiled. "I've done my tent!" She finished cheerfully. Duck turned around, stunned that she would've been able to make up her tent faster than the rest of the team.

"Wha…how…how did you do that?" Duck stammered.

"Utah, Duck. I went camping a lot. My dad taught me and my siblings how to make up tents when we were still learning to talk."

Duck looked puzzled "You grew up with pigs?"

"WHAT!"

"I'm sure a sibling is the name for a baby pig?" Duck scratched his head, trying to remember, oblivious to Lexi, who was fuming over what he just said.

Ace and the rest of the team, minus Duck and Lexi, noticing the confrontation decided to intervene.

"Don't listen to him Lex." Ace said softly. He put his hands on Lexi's shoulders to try and calm her.

Lexi sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

"Duck?" Tech asked, expecting an apology from the water-fowl.

"Yeah, yeah I'm sorry. Now can someone please tell me what a baby pig is called, I seriously can't remember?" Duck changed the subject quickly, mush to the dislike of the rest of the team.

"They're called piglets Duck. And forget it." Lexi said tiredly "I think I'm a bit stressed out at the moment."

"That time of the month again, huh Lex?" Duck chuckled.

Lexi tensed up, angry. She turned around quickly, raising a fist. "Are you _trying_ to get yourself hurt today Duck?" She fumed. Ace put his arm around her waist to prevent her from doing anything unnecessary.

"Hey, hey, hey Lex." Ace said, trying to divert the conversation. "Why don't you and I go for a walk?"

Lexi turned to look at him and sighed. "Yeah, good idea." She and Ace turned away from the rest of the group and headed out into the forest together.

* * *

"Lex, are you okay?" Ace asked after a while of them walking together. He had his arm around her, the sun was still setting so their path way was easily visible, their shadows streaming out in front of them as they walked together.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, right…I'm fine."

Ace stopped and stood in front of Lexi, he put his hands, this time, on her hips, and pulled her towards him. "You sure, you know you can tell me anything."

"I know." Lexi sighed; she turned her head away from Ace, and let her shoulders droop. "Like I told Duck, I'm just…a bit stressed." She finished, her voice was sterner this time.

Ace hesitated for a moment, before pressing his lips to hers. He broke away after a while and combed some of her hair out of her eye with his fingers. "Was Duck right, with what he said?" Ace asked his voice barely above a whisper as he pulled Lexi closer to him.

"…Yeah. He was." Lexi sighed.

"Hey." Ace said softly. "We understand, you don't have to hide it, or be embarrassed by it." He moved some stray hairs away from her eye again.

"I know, I shouldn't be embarrassed by it, but I am. Especially because it's associated with…well…you know…"

Ace looked slightly confused for a moment. "What do you mean Lex?"

Lexi sighed uncomfortably "You know, Aunt Flow…that time of the month…"

"Oh," Ace understood. "You mean your…"

"…Yeah, it's due in a couple of days, and hopefully won't come while we're out in the middle of no-where."

Ace put on a guilty smile. "And we guys think _we _have a hard life."

Lexi smiled. "I always tell you guys that, but noooooo" she chuckled a bit "It's good to know at least _you_ listen to me."

Ace smiled too, before, again, pressing his lips to hers.

Once he pulled away the two looked up to the sky. "Come on." Ace said quietly, he took Lexi's hand and they walked together until they found a small clearing of trees, following it they found themselves on a ledge, made from an outstretched rock. The water from the river was a few metres below them, and they could see where it flowed into the truly magnificent site, of the sun-lit lake.

"Wow, it's beautiful." Lexi smiled. The two sat down on the edge of the rock for a few moments.

"Maybe we should head back now." Ace suggested. "We could grab some fire-wood, I mean…well it is Rev's birthday, we shouldn't miss it."

"Yeah."

Lexi and Ace stood up, and began to head-back the way they had come, picking up fire-wood on the way. Soon the two came to a 'Fork-path' where two dirt paths lead off in two different directions, divided by a thick row of trees.

"Hey, er Lex?" Ace asked, a bit worried.

"Hmm?"

"Which way did we come?"

Lexi smiled. She had grown up in the country, the out-back to be more accurate. "Ace, don't worry, I know a few tricks that my dad taught me back-home." She pointed to a 'path' of broken and snapped twigs lying on the ground. "That's most-likely where we came from; besides, the trail runs parallel to the river." Her finger followed the route the river took. "We were camped near the river-bank, and that path." She said, pointing to the other path. "Leads away from the river's edge. We need to go this way." And she started to take the path to the right of were they were standing. "Also Ace," She said, looking back at Ace, who was seemingly impressed by her 'woodland' expertise "The sun sets in the west, which is over the lake where we _just _were, so we need to go exactly the opposite way, and go east."

Ace smiled and walked over to her. "I never really thought of you as someone who would grow up…"

"…Smack bang in the middle of no-where?" Lexi finished. She smiled "Not many people really do. One of my brothers and I moved to Acmetropolis when I wanted to go to college here, when the meteor hit, I was in college trying out for the…"

"…Cheerleading team." Ace finished. "Why'd one of your brothers come with you?"

"Because my dad is insanely over protective of me, my sisters and my mum, so he wanted someone to stay with me incase something bad happened. It was…kinda ironic that the meteor hit."

"Yeah, I remember you telling us about that when we first met, well…actually, a few weeks after we first met. Which reminds me, why were you so quiet when we first met. You hardly ever talked or even associated with us?"

Lexi's smile vanished, and she looked to the floor with a slightly hurt expression on her face. "It doesn't matter Ace."

Ace noticed her sad tone of voice and was concerned "Lexi I…"

"I said drop it okay!" The two stared at each-there for a moment, both surprised by Lexi's outburst. "Come, on Ace. We should get back."

"Yeah, we should. Look Lex, I'm sorry." Ace said quietly once he had caught up with her.

"Forget about it Ace, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just shouted like that."

"Nah, Let's just say we're both sorry, and call it truce." Ace smiled. Lexi returned the gesture, and the two spent the rest of their walk in silence, unsure of what to say.

When the two did reach the camp they found that the rest of the team had sorted out their tents, they had already built a fire and they were already cooking their dinner for the night.

Only half of the sun was visible as it disappeared over the horizon but the warm air that was still rising from the ground made the air warm and comfortable.

"Well I might put my bags in my tent before something ruins it." Lexi said as she walked over to her two bags, Ace following behind. He stopped her when she started to pick up the bag that had hurt her earlier and suggested that he put it inside for her. "Thanks Ace. Wait…I think I need to sort out my sleeping bag first." She said, looking at the uncomfortable floor of her tent. "It's in that bag, so it might lighten the load enough for me to carry it inside."

"Ok Lex," Ace still looked concerned. "Just don't try to lift it if you can't manage it, one of us'll help you. I'll be at my tent if you need me." He finished more happily, as he left Lexi to make up her sleeping bag as he went to do his own.

Some few minutes went by before Lexi joined the others at the centre of their camping spot, there were two logs around the fire, with Slam bringing in another one so there were enough for all to sit, with plenty of room.

Rev smiled when he saw Lexi approach. "Hey-Lexi,-you-okay-now-we-talked-to-Duck-about-what-he-said." Rev and Tech both glared at Duck, who sat slumped over one of the logs, he jumped when the log Slam had been carrying was dropped in its place and a large bang sounded throughout the area.

"Yeah, thanks Rev." She smiled at both Rev and Tech, knowing they were the ones who dealt with Duck while she and Ace were out. "I'm fine…well was."

The two looked at her, concerned over why she said she wasn't okay anymore.

"I was wondering if one of you could help me with my bag..." She grinned sheepishly at the two. "It's too heavy for me to lift, despite the fact that my sleeping bag's out of it. Ace said I should ask either him or one of you guys for help, rather than 'strain' my self." She looked slightly sour, but smiled nonetheless when Tech said he would help, while Rev continued cooking.

The two walked the few paces to Lexi's tent without talking, only the crunches of gravel and sticks under their feet making any noises.

Tech picked up Lexi's bag and went into her tent slightly, but looked back so she would follow. "Where do you want it?"

"I don't mind, just somewhere in the corner maybe?" She said, pointing to a corner in her tent that her sleeping bag hadn't taken up.

"Okay" Tech said cheerfully, he carefully stepped inside her tent, so as to not mess anything up, or get her sleeping bag muddy. He put it exactly where she had pointed before turning back to her. "Is that okay?"

"Perfect." Lexi smiled. Politely, she waited for Tech to leave before walking back with him to the camp-fire, where Ace, Duck and Slam were now sitting. Duck and Slam were sitting at the same log, Ace was on one side of the one closest to the tents, and there was a vacant log facing away from the river that Tech now sat on.

The logs and fire were a good few metres away from the edge of the river bank, but it was still easy to see the river and the lake that glistened in the light of the setting sun, to the West of the Loonatics.

Lexi took a seat next to Ace, knowing that soon it may get colder; also knowing this Ace put his arm around her as everyone waited for Rev so finish cooking. The crackling of the fire and fire-wood, and the noise of Rev's feat when he moved was the only sound that came from the small circle of friends.

Moments later, Rev sat down on the other side of the log to Tech. He turned to look at the others, who eyed him expectantly. "What!-The-food's-gotta-cool-down,-unless-you'd-prefer-to-burn-your-selves."

"Dhjf sfosififs fidosiisk!"

"Good idea Slam, Frisbee'll be fun. I'll serve!" Duck said, running off to get the flying disc from his tent.

The rest of the team, minus Slam and Rev who were excited to play a game of Frisbee, rolled their eyes and got up, spreading themselves around the area, ready to catch the disc when Duck threw it.

Once Duck had returned, Frisbee in hand he positioned himself in a free spot- near one of the logs surrounding the fire. "Everyone ready?" He called

"Yep."

Duck threw it, and he game began, everyone trying to grab it when it was thrown to them, before it hit the ground.

"Duck!" Slam called, as he threw the disc to the waterfowl. He was near to the edge of the riverbank, all knowing fully that there was a few metres to drop before anything would actually hit the water.

"Duck! Be careful!" Lexi called as Duck jumped to reach the Frisbee, Rev quickly running and grabbing his shirt before he could fall off the edge.

"Awww man Slam! You threw it off the edge, I got that Frisbee back at the orphanage, and I am not going to lose it at some hippy's camp." Duck called, he carefully climbed down the river bank, it sloped slightly but there were plenty of roots for him to hang on to in order to stay against the bank, No-one in the team was sure if the river had a current, and Duck especially didn't want to find out.

"Can anyone see it?" He called once he reached the bottom of the bank. There was about a meter of dirt edging to the bottom of the bank before it met up with the river, So Duck was able to stand at the bottom and safely call up to his friends at the top of the bank.

"No." Ace called back. "Duck just be careful, if you fall in I don't want to be the one to pull you out."

"Yeah yeah, careful shmareful" Duck mumbled as he scanned the top of the river. "I found it!" He called out triumphantly. "At the centre of the river, with half of it submerged, was Duck's Red and Yellow swirled Frisbee.

"Wait Duck!" Lexi called out in alarm as Duck was about to wade into the water. All eyes focused on Lexi, as she looked like she was trying to remember the cause of her alarm. "I think that's a bad idea." She continued to mumble something as she tried to remember why she was distressed. "My Dad…he…said something about not going into rivers unless you're sure about them….but I can't remember why?"

"Don't worry Lex, we already talked about the whole current thing, but if the Frisbee's not moving then there's nothing to worry about, besides, I used to be a life-guard, they teach you about swimming in harsh conditions, I'm a very strong swimmer." Duck said carelessly, he flexed his muscles as he stuck his foot in the water, but was interrupted, yet again.

"Correction Duck." Tech smiled. "You _were going to be _a lifeguard, but I recall you mentioning something about being a pool-boy." He raised an eyebrow and the team giggled. Duck scowled and looked as if he was going to dive in this time.

"No." Lexi called again, she looked unconvinced at what Duck had just said. "Seriously Duck, it's dangerous in there. You've got no idea what could be under that water."

Duck rolled his eyes. "I didn't see you worrying about that when you jumped in the bay to save Ace yesterday, missy."

Everyone turned to look at Lexi, who had gone slightly red in the face. She looked taken aback, but rolled her eyes. "What! I did that to save his _life_, not a Frisbee."

"Same difference!" Duck called. "You dived into cold, dirty, murky bay water for Ace. What's wrong with me _walking_ into _warm clear, calm_ water for _my_ Frisbee?"

Lexi sighed. She couldn't beat him there. Duck, seeing his opportunity, waded out into the water carefully. "Hey, this water's quite warm, you see Lexi…nothing to worry about!" He called, the water slowly rising around his body.

Ace looked nervous, and turned his head to Rev and Tech. "There were no warnings or rules about this water was there"

Rev shook his head rapidly. "Nope-actually-you're-allowed-to-go-swimming-in-the-lake-but-technically-it-didn't-say-that-about-the-river."

Ace looked wary, but this time turned to his left where Lexi was standing, she had her arms crossed and was watching Duck, clearly still trying to remember something. "You okay Lex" Ace asked.

Lexi turned to look at him. "Yeah, yeah…I'm just trying to remember what was so dangerous about ri…"

Lexi was interrupted by a scream that brought the attention to Duck. "Aghh! Help…something's got me, I can't swim…dragging me under!" Duck screamed, but he kept having to spit out water that was collecting in his mouth from being dragged under.

"The Under-tow! That was it!" Lexi called, she had a look of horror on her face that alerted the others to the severity of what was happening.

Ace shook his head and turned back to the thrashing and wailing Duck, in the river below them. "Oh Duck; you've really done it now."

* * *


	14. Camping Trip Part 2

**Ok, first of all...**

Thanks to everyone who reveiwed!!!!!!!!!

The next chapter is here!

*NOTE: There are some parts that readers may find too dramatic and pointless, but I was bored  
Secondly, there are references to Bands and their songs.

'Bleed It Out' and 'Leave Out All The Rest' are songs written and performed by Linkin Park. (One of my favourite bands of all time!) And is not part of my imagination in any way.

Linkin Park is an internationally renowned band, so anyone who is interested in listneing to the mentioned songs should check out their website at **.com**** or can listen to the songs at ****.com******

Simple Plan is a band too, and what I imagine to be the sort of band that Rev likes. No songs are mentioned in the FanFic, but are easily accesible via **.com**** or any other music websites that you know of XD  
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I think that might be it for notes, and if so then here is:

Chapter 14- Camping Trip (Part 2)

Ace looked around, desperate to try and find something to help Duck; a rope, a long branch, anything that would be strong enough to pull him in, without risking everyone else's safety. Looking round he came to the conclusion that they would have to go in, if they were to save their friend.

"Lexi, stay here. The rest of us" Ace turned to the rest of the team. "We need to go and help Duck!" Rev, Tech and Slam immediately ran down the edge of the bank. Ace went to follow but was stopped when Lexi grabbed his arm.

"Ace, Wha…why…what am I supposed to do, why do I have to stay here?" She pleaded, small tears forming in her eyes.

"Lex…" He could see Lexi was clearly upset, but the pleads and calls of Duck were what made him make his decision. He roughly pulled his arm away from Lexi, and turned to join the rest of the team. He looked back once from the bottom of the bank, and mouthed 'I'm sorry' back to her.

Lexi accepted his apology, inside, she knew Duck's life was a stake, and arguing with Ace was just going to leave one person short of helping him. Instead of standing there and watching like a helpless damsel, Lexi decided to do something neither Ace or the others had time to do - Find something to pull him in, or them in if need be. But, Lexi became slightly nervous over the possibilities of her being the only one who could pull the five of them back to land. Would she be able to? Or would she fail them and accidentally cause their deaths? She shivered and decided to focus on finding something to pull them ashore with instead.

* * *

Down on the river bank; Rev, Tech, Slam and Ace had all taken off their shoes at Ace's command; 'if they fill up with water, we'll drown' he reminded them. Now they had decided to do the wisest thing, Put Slam, the strongest out first to try and retrieve Duck, if he couldn't do it on his own; Rev, Tech and Ace would have to give assistance.

Slam carefully waded out into the water, well aware that if he was left in the same situation as Duck, he would too have to be pulled free, something that the rest of the team could struggle with. Being the tallest, Slam had an advantage over Duck, the shortest, Slam would be able to easily stand in the water, without needing to swim and fight the under-tow to stay alive, and Duck could easily sit on his shoulders, or even be thrown across to the edge, until help arrived. With this in mind, Slam wasn't too worried.

* * *

Back with Lexi, She had ventured out into the forest, being sure to remember her bearings, in search of a stick long enough to pull them free, but it also had to be light enough for her to carry it alone, and strong enough to support the weight of her friends, and the river's undertow. In a forest abundant with branches, it seemed easy enough, but the lack of water in the forest also meant the branches were too brittle and would crack and break easily. Finding a damp and sturdy branch, plus all the factors she had already considered, made her job a very difficult one to uphold.

In her desperation to not fail her team, Lexi fell several times during her search, but being as determined and strong-willed as she was, the safety of her team-mates came first.

Whenever she tripped, she got up, checked what she had fallen over wasn't something detrimental to her health, or a Long Branch she needed, and continued on. Several times she came into contact with snakes that either came out at night to hunt, or were returning to their dens now that the heat of the day was decreasing. She had never been too afraid of snakes, much to the dislike of her 'prankster' older brothers, having grown up in an area where they were common, she knew not to approach them from behind in fear of provoking an attack, and she knew how to handle them if need be.

Another trick she had learnt from her over-protective father for situations similar to what she was in now, was; when finding sticks like the ones she needed, to test how strong they were, could be done by holding it straight over her leg and kicking it. If it broke, it was too weak, if it stayed intact but was slightly weaker than before, it was damaged, but if it stayed sturdy, it was the type she needed.

Becoming exhausted of endless branch searching, and testing she began to reconsider her 'branch-factors' and wondered if she was being too picky, and wasting precious time. She shook away those thoughts, and remembered to not become impatient, a trait she had inherited from her mother.

Growing ever-more tired of running, she lost awareness and tumbled painfully over-exactly the kind of branch she needed. Testing it, several times before actually believing it was real and perfect, she sighed in triumph, and then turned around, adrenaline driving her forwards, back to the river where she needed to be.

* * *

Slam grabbed Duck's wrist and pulled him out of the river easily, without a second thought for his own safety he took both of his hands, and placed the sodden Duck on his shoulder.

Turning slowly, Slam found his foot entangled in some form of weed at the bottom of the river. Glancing down into the murky water and then back at the riverbank where his friends were calling him, he sighed, and tried to signal that he was stuck.

"What the heck's he stopped for?" Ace wandered out-loud.

"I'm not sure chief, but let's just give him time; he's probably just regaining his balance or something." Tech scratched his head in confusion.

"Wait-maybe-he's-caught-on-something? Rev suggested, grimly.

Ace and Tech turned there heads and gave Rev a confused look. "Hey-it's-possible!" Rev reminded them. The two then turned back to Slam and Duck and considered what he said.

"…Maybe." Tech said.

"Maybe, you're right Rev." Ace shouted, "Slam!"

Slam looked back at the bunny, frantically he tried to remember what he had convinced himself earlier, about him being able to stay above the water, but he couldn't shake the sinking feeling he felt of just being caught in the midst of a river, helpless, with a Duck on his shoulder- only that thought just humiliated him slightly.

"Dgdghd klfksdjk?" He called back.

"Don't worry Slam, we'll think of something, just hang in there." Ace turned back to Rev and Tech, "Anyone got any ideas?"

Both shook their heads. "Great" Ace thought.

* * *

Lexi ran, finding the large branch she was pulling surprisingly easy to carry and run with, she reached the clearing that they were camped at, faster than she expected she would. Dodging the camp-fire which was still alight, she ran to the edge of the bank, and looked over the edge. To her relief, she could see everyone, safe…pretty much, but none of them were submerged, that being her main concern.

"Hey Guys!" She called down to Ace, Tech and Rev, who looked up to her in surprise, "Need a hand?" They nodded, and she threw the large branch down to them, before clambering down the slope herself and joining the three.

"Nice timing Lex" Ace commented. "We were just about out of ideas."

Lexi looked down at their shoeless feet. "What, you were making a vain attempt to use your shoes as boats and sail across?" She smiled. The others chuckled.

They pushed the branch out to Slam, who grabbed it with one hand, whilst using the other to keep hold of Duck in fear of him falling and being lost, on the other end, Ace, Tech and Rev, with Lexi bringing up the rear, pulled the two heroes to the edge, groaning and grumbling as they did so.

When the two had been successfully brought to shore; the team let out a sigh of relief, and embraced their two soaked friends.

"You know…" Lexi started as she pulled away from the group hug. "I got that branch incase all of you had gone in, you know in case Duck was unconscious or something."

"Why just incase _he_ was unconscious?" Tech asked, as they walked back up the slope to the camp-fire.

"Because, it helps if the member of the team who can TELAPORT is conscious and is able to do it." She smiled, while the rest of the team looked at her, awe-struck, before turning angrily to Duck.

"And you planned on teleporting yourself and Slam outta there when?" Ace asked.

"Well, "Duck started shakily "In my defence…It was…cold?"

"But I recall you mentioning that the water was 'actually quite nice'" Lexi quoted, she smiled when Duck received angry glares from the rest of the team. Perhaps it was her revenge for what he had done to her throughout the evening?

"Damn you woman!" Duck mumbled as he sat down on the same log as earlier. Rev began to heat up their now cold food while the rest of the team, took up their seats from earlier, Except Ace and Lexi, who had walked off together to talk.

* * *

"Look Lexi, I just wanted to apologise." Ace said quietly. They were in Lexi's tent; she was changing into a pair of jeans for the evening, having become quite cold now that the sun had set.

"Apologise for what?" Lexi asked as she pulled off her shorts, and got her jeans out of her bag.

"…For, leaving you here…while we went to help the genius that is Duck." Ace said, sarcastically adding the last part in.

"Hey, you had Duck to think about. I understand." Lexi answered. She stopped what she was doing to let Ace continue, he was being serious so Lexi though she shouldn't be getting herself distracted, she sat cross legged on her sleeping bag with Ace opposite her.

"To be honest Lex" Ace started, he scratched the back of his neck in an embarrassed manner "I wasn't thinking of the danger that could have come to _Duck_, at the time."

Lexi looked confused, and set her jeans down, waiting to for Ace to continue. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't want anything bad to happen to _you_ if we had to go out and grab Duck and got stuck ourselves. Lex, I wouldn't want you to be killed because of someone else's carelessness or my…lack of good leadership skills."

"What! What do you mean 'Lack of good leadership skills'?" She looked down sorrowfully, and brushed some dirt off of her leg.

"I mean…what If I had told you to come with me to pull Duck out, and been completely unaware of the danger _we_ would put ourselves in."

"Yeah but, you wouldn't do that." Lexi replied softly.

Ace sighed. "I also did it because I knew if we _did _have to swim out, I knew you're not the strongest in the team, and I didn't want to see you suffer, or even drown if you couldn't swim against the pull of the river." Ace too looked down ashamed of what he was next going to say. "I…also didn't want you to drown and have me go after _you _and make it seem like I didn't care about Duck… as much as I did with you."

Ace didn't hear an answer for a while. He didn't want to look at Lexi, and see what she though of what he said. So he waited, and let her consider what he had said. Eventually he realised how much he needed her, not so much as to know she was alive, but he just _needed _her. Before he had told her how he felt, he would either bottle up his problems, or talk to Tech about them, but eventually he stopped, realising Tech probably didn't need to, or want to hear his problems, and it wasn't a very manly thing to do either.

But after he had confessed to her that he loved her, and they had kissed, hugged, and…spent a night together, he realised how much he _wanted, needed _and_ loved _her. He could tell her anything, she wouldn't think of him as a coward, because she would be able to easily able to understand the stress and emotional struggles people faced through life, considering she got stressed and emotional quite often. If he comforted her when she needed it, why wouldn't she return the favour? But of course he knew she would, she always had time to listen to the team about their problems, provide solutions and sympathy for them, without making them feel pathetic, or ratting them out.

So after what felt like an eternity of him waiting for an answer, all he heard was a small "Come here." For him to realise just how much she really did mean to him. How much emotional pain he was in at the time really did show, as he accidentally pushed her down with the force at which he embraced her, not enough to hurt her obviously, but enough to make her giggle slightly.

Normally, he would've immediately got off her and checked to see if she was okay and, very humiliated, he would've left. But now, considering how close they were, he didn't really care, and he knew she didn't either, he thought is was quite nice, just the two for them together, but of course the rest of the team were outside and didn't know some of the more _graphic _details of their relationship.

Lexi laughed from underneath him, and kicked her legs slightly. Their noses were touching and they were both smiling, Ace still had his arms around her, like he wouldn't let go.

Lexi giggled. "What are you trying to do Ace, eat me?"

Ace smiled, "Maybe." He pressed his lips to her neck for a while, before travelling upwards to her lips. When it was at the point that they both needed air he pulled away and smiled at her.

Lexi took in a breath of air, before again; Ace pressed his lips to hers. After counting up in her head for a while, she tried to pull away, but being underneath like she was, she couldn't. Eventually she managed to make Ace pull away by poking him in the side.

Ace leant up and looked down at Lexi, his eyes wandered over her for a while, until he noticed some dust and a small bruise on her knee. Concerned, he blew some of the dust away and grazed his fingers over the small bluish bruise, he could feel that it was raised; obviously it must have swollen slightly. "Lex, what happened? I didn't see this here earlier?"

Lexi, who had been watching Ace with some confusion, sat up, and answered, "Oh, so you were looking then?" She smirked.

"Well, yeah…" Ace smiled. "But really, I didn't notice that before, when did you get that?"

Lexi moved his hand away from on top of her knee, and inspected the bruise herself, "I guess it must've been from when I was trying to find a branch? I fell over…a lot…" She blushed as she stared guiltily at Ace.

Ace smiled and shook his head slightly, "Lexi, what am I going to do with you?"

"Love me?" Lexi smiled.

"Nah, I'll just do this instead." In an instance he had planted a kiss on her knee, where the bruise was and playfully pushed her down and began to kiss her more passionately, on the lips.

"Ace, I…think we should stop. The others are outside…and it is Rev's birthday…we don't want them to get suspicious." She whispered.

"Yeah, good Idea." Ace replied. He got up and held out a hand for her.

"Thanks." She smiled. "Maybe we should leave…separately, you know, so it doesn't look so suspicious."

"Yeah, I'll see you out there then." Ace said. Getting up and leaving quietly.

Lexi hesitated for a moment, before putting her jeans on. Like she had told Ace, she waited for a few minutes, before gabbing her iPod and head-phones and heading outside.

The rest of the team were waiting, for her, which made her feel slightly guilty, but reluctantly she sat down next to Ace, and was given her plate of food.

No-one really talked much during the time they spent eating, until they had finished. Lexi volunteered to collect up the plates and put them in a bag, they were only paper, and so were disposable. Once she had knotted up the bag and put it in the back-pack containing their food- and now, garbage, she sat back down in her place, and prayed for a conversation to start, to set at ease the uncomfortable silence they found themselves in.

"So, er…why don't we all give Rev his…" Ace started, slightly scared to mention the last word. "…Presents" He whispered; only everyone heard, and before Rev could even start to rant, everyone had run off to retrieve their present for Rev.

"Thanks…guys…I…can't…wait!" Rev said, rather slowly, trying to control his excitement, after the team had sat down, Duck handed Rev his present and sat silently as Rev inspected the surprisingly neat wrapping. He carefully opened the envelope that concealed both his card and his present. Rev opened the card first and read the note out aloud;

* * *

Dear Rev

Happy Birthday, enjoy your present; have a great day and… Blah blah blah…oh yeah. DON'T TALK!

From your Friend,

Danger Duck

* * *

Rev looked up at Duck and gave a guilty smile. "Well, er…thanks?" he looked to the rest of the group who were glaring at Duck. "Well the grammar is good?" He smiled, honestly this time. It was typical for Rev- he could never stay mad at anyone, except villains, he was always doing his best to keep everyone smiling and turning negative situations into positive ones. It was admirable, everyone needs someone like Rev, and the team were glad that they had him to cheer them up whenever they were feeling down. It was almost like a rotor that Lexi and Rev shared between them- Lexi was the one who listened to their problems and was honest about the answers and never told anyone about them, unless the person wanted her to. While Rev was the one who cheered them up afterwards.

Lexi broke away from her glare at Duck and smiled at Rev. There were many times where she had broken down because of reasons she couldn't really explain to the group of males. It made her uncomfortable to cry in front of them, or just be around them when she was hormonal- it made her more agitated and annoyed at things she would usually be able to shrug off, and after bottling things up and having to sit in her room for an hour or so, hidden away from the rest of the team, so she could cry in peace with her music up so they wouldn't be able to hear her sobs.

It was nice, even though it was sometimes annoying, when Rev would knock on her door and ask her what was wrong. When Ace would, she would usually send him away or tell him she was fine, but she felt she could open up more with Rev, he was the one who was closest to her own age and his happy go lucky attitude made it so much easier for her to cheer up than she thought it would with anyone else.

'_Well won't that probably change' _she thought to herself, as she thought of how now she'd probably be able to talk to Ace more about her problems and have him to comfort her and cheer her up, rather than Rev. It made her feel slightly sad that she wouldn't have that connection with Rev anymore, but at least Ace would be there to understand and help her. Ace was good with words, so he would be able to explain things to the rest of the team, even though Tech probably already knew and understood, but the others in the team wouldn't.

She frowned slightly at the thought of change but soon revived her smile at Rev as he took the other smaller envelope out of the original one.

Duck smiled smugly when Rev's eyes widened in delight after seeing his present from the water-fowl. It was clear Rev was excited, even had he not jumped several feet into the air from his seated position on the log.

"What is it Rev?" Tech asked after he put a hand on Rev's shoulder to calm him down.

"Four Tickets to the Basher ball game on Saturday night!"

"dgjs fnskfjs jfkfl?"

"Oh…" Rev looked slightly disappointed. "You're right Slam, there are only four…"

"No sweat Rev." Ace smiled as he put his arm around Lexi and continued, "The four of you can go, Lexi and I'll stay home and…watch a movie or something."

"Yeah good idea Ace." Lexi smiled. "I'm not really a Basher Ball fan anyway."

"Yeah, but Ace _is_…" Rev rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Nah, I don't mind Rev. It's your Birthday present, besides, I've got Lexi" Ace smiled along with the rest of the team, whilst Lexi just smiled and rolled her eyes before handing Rev his present from her.

"Happy Birthday Rev." She smiled, Rev returned the gesture as he took the card out of the envelope. He beamed when he saw the picture on the front of the card, Lexi must've had it personalised, as it showed a picture of the team together having fun. He showed it to the rest of the group before he opened the card, and again read the card out loud.

* * *

Dear Rev

Happy Birthday, and Have a great day.

And I hope you like the present!

Love,

Lexi

* * *

Rev smiled, and looked in the Gift Bag. He pulled out some tissue paper, which concealed the present, he gasped in delight. "Yey, you got me Simple Plan live in concert! Thank you so much Lexi, and we can watch it together some time!" Rev got up and hugged her, taking both Lexi and Ace by surprise. Ace didn't mind though, it was a friendly hug, _'why would Rev of all people steal my girlfriend.' _Ace thought to himself. The thought comforted him, as he knew no-one in the team loved Lexi in the same way he did, they all loved each other, but more in a family way; rather than intimately. But he couldn't help but feel slight anger that the so called _friendly hug _lasted longer than it should have.

Rev eventually let go of the female and smiled sheepishly at Ace, who looked slightly confused, but had a slight hint of anger in his sharp blue eyes.

"Awkward." Duck chimed in, he smirked at Ace.

"Be quiet." Ace responded, with some annoyance in his tone of voice.

"You know what I just realised?" Duck piped in after a slightly awkward pause between the team.

"What, that there's actually a brain between you ears?" Lexi smirked.

"No! And there is a brain up here thank you." Duck pointed at his head and then to her.

"Sure, just count again Duck there are _two_ that exist in _your_ body, just one is further down." Lexi joked.

"Anyway…" Tech brought the two back to what was originally being said, "What was it that you realised?"

"I just realised that Lexi is now officially the youngest in the team."

"Oh yeah!" Ace suddenly seemed to realise it too. "So you're now the only nineteen year old in the group."

"Aww, so you're still only a teenager." Duck jeered.

"Wait a second?" Tech started, considering what Ace had just said.

"Cfsvksk?" Slam asked.

"Doesn't that mean you were only seventeen when you joined the team?"

"Wow, our team genius is also a math wiz." Duck sighed sarcastically.

Lexi pondered something for a moment "Yeah, I guess. But what about Rev?"

"Nope, I had turned eighteen by the time we became the Loonatics." Rev replied happily, as usual.

"Oh."

* * *

The rest of the presents were handed to Rev with cards, each time the avian seemed to get more and happier. From Slam he received a coupon for a years worth of discounted Pizzas, from Ace he was given some skiing equipment, and Tech gave him a book on 'Sciences' with information on Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

"Awwwwwww,-thanks-guys-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so-sooooooooooooo-much!" Rev thanked the team gleefully. "I'm-so-happy-I-could-kiss-ya!"

The rest of the group looked at Rev with a mixture of horror and confusion.

"…Don't-worry-I-won't-especially-considering-most-of-you-are-guys-and-Lexi's-going-out-with-Ace-and-I-really-don't-wanna-get-on-the-bad-side-of-him!" Rev shook his head rapidly as he said this.

Ace smiled, "Yeah Rev you don't, but I'm not all muscle you know."

"I-know-Ace-but-still,-hey-what-were-you-guys-doing-when-you-went-into-Lexi's-tent-earlier-before-dinner,-I-heard-giggling?" Rev asked, he sounded confused. The team turned to stare at their leader with Duck and Tech looking equally angry whilst Rev and Slam looked as though they had their suspicions, but were still confused.

"Umm, er…I" Ace looked around trying to think of something. He saw Lexi's iPod resting on her lap. "We were just talking…about music." He blurted. Lexi gave him a confused look but carried on anyway; knowing Ace wasn't exactly the musical type like she was.

"…Yeah." She started, fiddling with her headphone wires. "It turns out we both like…Linkin Park." She smiled. "We were just waiting for dinner to cook and so we were listening to some stuff from their albums." The rest of the team looked at her blankly. "Err, you know Linkin Park, internationally famous. Numb, What I've Done…Crawling? You guys ever heard of those?" She asked quietly.

The rest of the team shook their heads. Lexi sighed. "Why have you never heard of good music?" She smiled.

"Sooooooo, anyway back on planet normal…" Duck yawned, Lexi glared at him. "Why don't we all get some shut-eye, I'm beat."

"Yeah good idea Duck." Ace started the rest of the team agreeing. Lexi and Ace remained seated as the rest of the team went to their tents, to turn in for the night.

"…So." Lexi started. "…whose tent are we going to?"

"Oh, we're sharing tonight?" Ace joked. He and Lexi got up before going to Lexi's tent together.

"You've seriously never heard of Linkin Park?" Lexi asked Ace as they lay down together, she was still holding her iPod and looked as though she was searching through it; Ace noticed this and looked through her selection as she tried to find something.

"Geez Lex, You've got a lot of music on there."

"I know." Lexi smiled. "My family's quite musically orientated, the town I grew up in, everyone learns some form of instrument, and we're kind of…brought up listening to music, mainly country. But my sister and I grew into liking rock music too."

"What instrument do you and your sister play?"

"I play, piano and acoustic guitar, my Mum and Dad both played those. And I started to learn a bit of flute too, before I went to college. My sister, she's a composer, and she's in a band, so she writes music and knows how to play _a lot _of different instruments, some of them are really weird ones. But she's mainly focused on Guitar, Piano and singing.

"Cool" Ace seemed impressed. "What about the rest of your family, what do they do?"

"Well my sister Sam, Samantha obviously, the composer is my twin so we're pretty close and…obviously the same age, except for the fact that I'm 4 minutes older than her!" She smiled. "My younger sister, Teresa, she's only 11, she plays the Flute and the Violin. My older brothers, I've got four; umm…Spencer doesn't play anything, Pete…plays _some _acoustic guitar, Mike-Michael, plays Drums and Mitchell plays acoustic guitar too."

"So…what are their jobs?" Ace asked with curiosity.

"My Brothers are pilots, for the Navy, well, they will be, and they're training right now, but they came back here after graduating at flight school and now do training for further air combat skills in some place, that my dad was an instructor at, near the town we live in."

"But…Why doesn't your dad work there now?"

"He didn't want to have to be the one to teach his son's about flying, the kind of line they work in, you can't have too many distractions, and my dad didn't want to go easy on _them _or have to be the one to tell them off. So he resigned, and now he's a cop."

"Cool, your family seems to have _interestin' _jobs. What about your mum?"

Lexi chuckled. "Ironically, she used to be a gymnast, but she quit when she was pregnant with Spencer, and now she works in a small shop in the town, just part-time though."

"Ah, so I see where you got some inspiration from then." Ace smiled. "So, your families got; A composer, Fighter Pilots, a cop, an ex-gymnast, another ex-gymnast who is now a super-hero…" Ace poked Lexi in the side, earning a giggle out of her.

"…Yeah, a superhero daughter who lives with a bunch of guys my family doesn't know, and therefore doesn't trust, and that superhero daughter hardly ever calls cause she hasn't got the time to, and is afraid of what they might say." Lexi sighed. "Seriously, it'd be hell if they ever wanna meet you guys."

Ace couldn't think of anything to say to that, so he kept quiet, and played with Lexi's hair, twisting and curling the golden locks through his fingers as it fell neatly over her face. Lexi closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of his fingers through her hair; she hit play on her iPod, putting one earplug in her right ear, and another in Ace's left ear.

"You wanna here some of Linkin Park's stuff?" She asked, still with her eyes shut.

"Sure Lex." Ace replied. He lay down and let Lexi rest her head on top of his chest, and they lay there for minutes, listening to a more peaceful, of Linkin Park's songs. Liking the tune, as the song began to play, Ace pondered something. "What's this called?"

"Leave out all the rest." Lexi replied, still with her eyes shut. "I like to go to sleep listening to this song, it's peaceful, and for some reason it reminds me of the starry skies I used to see back home, my Dad and I used to always come out onto the top floor of our house, it's not really a roof, more of another floor that we used in summer for parties and barbeques. Or in me and Dad's case, at night time we used to sit out in the chairs and watch the stars, with the canyons in the distance, and we'd talk about anything."

Ace smiled. He had already explained his family life to the team. His Dad is a famous actor, who got cast a lot, so much that his Ace's mother and Ace would constantly be moving to different places in the country or the world. When he needed to go to college, Ace went to live with his Uncle and Cousin in Acme-Florida, until he was able to get a job himself as a Stunt-double and he moved to Acmetropolis, but he rarely found the time to call his Uncle or his parents, who understood, they knew about his job and were happy for him.

Soon he found Lexi asleep, the song had already ended, and it started to go into a more upbeat song, the next track 'Bleed It Out'. Ace took the earplugs out of both he and Lexi's ear and settled down to sleep himself.

* * *


	15. Camping Trip Part 3

**Yey!**

**I have the next chapter up, faster than I expected...hmm...oh well, but thats good! :)**

**Anyway, as I am currently suffering from an intense writers block, there may be a short delay with the posting of the upcoming chapter, in advance...I apologise if this happens....**

**And anyway...Onwards!**

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* * *

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**DISCLAIMER-** I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOACATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

In the morning, Ace was awoken by the sound of birds, singing the morning chorus while the sun rose, waking them up. Ace smiled and stretched out, the birds making him feel freer, it was different, waking up, and smelling the fresh-air, hearing the songs of dozens of birds, instead of the whirring of generators he was used to back at HQ.

He felt strange though, he assumed it would still be cold in the morning, considering the sun was only just rising and it hadn't had much of a chance to heat the earth, Ace smiled nonetheless when he realised that it was delightfully warm outside, But of course, he thought, some of this warmth would have had to be coming from the sleeping form of Lexi next to him.

Sitting up and turning to his right hand side, furthest away from the tent flap, Ace found no-one. His heart beat rose slightly with anxiety, until Ace found a note in the space Lexi would have been occupying.

* * *

_Ace, _

_Stop worrying. I know you're sitting up right now and are trying to work out where I might be. _

_Hah, I know what you're doing and I'm not even here!_

_Don't worry, I just went for a walk, I couldn't sleep. I'll be back in time for breakfast…And I'll be fine!_

_Just go back to sleep, and I'll be back before you know it._

_Lexi _

_Xxx_

* * *

Ace smiled at his own stupidity, it was strange how Lexi seemed to know what he was thinking, and he was glad she left something so he could tell where she was.

He got up and left the tent, the low sun rising in the east, where he was facing now, making him squint as he walked. He quietly went passed Slam's tent, Tech's, Duck's and Rev's before entering his own.

Inside, he found his neat sleeping bag with a copy of the same note he found in Lexi's tent earlier. "Must be an insurance note" Ace said quietly, to no-one in particular. He folded up the note and put the spare one, inside his bag, in exchange for a new shirt.

He took off his green shirt, and replaced it with a white polo, before heading outside. The warm air made him feel relaxed. He picked up the box of matches off of one of their campfire logs, and set the pile of chard sticks on fire again. He put a few new sticks on the fire once it had started to engulf the pile.

Leaving the crackling fire, Ace went over to the river bank and looked out over the raised ledge. The river, that seemed menacing and deadly yesterday evening, seemed harmless and beautiful. The fiery colours of last night's skies returned as the sun rose, in a dazzling light, which silhouetted the trees and made the lake over in the west shimmer and sparkle, like the water was dancing on itself.

Suddenly, Ace felt weight on is back, it was bearable, and quite light. And he had just the idea of whose weight it smiled and moved his hands to his back, to support the person who was there.

"Miss me?" Lexi asked.

"Nah," Ace readjusted himself appropriately, still holding her, but spinning himself around so they were facing each other. "I was just about ready to grab your iPod and run off to Acme-Mexico, what do you think?" He smiled.

Lexi chuckled and played with the fur between his ears. "So where were you?" Ace asked as he put her back down gently.

"I went for a walk."

"Where to, and why?" He put on a mock-sad expression. "I was _so_ worried."

"Oh I know you were worried Ace." Lexi giggled, poking him in the chest.

"Damn!" Ace smiled as he picked her up again, but held her against him. "So…where were you?"

"Oh yeah, right!" Lexi smiled, as she pressed on his nose with her finger. "I just walked back to where you and I were yesterday."

"…and nothing bad happened to you?" Ace asked raising an eyebrow.

Lexi rolled her eyes and smiled. "No, well… there was a weird looking guy hanging around there, but I'm sure he was just going for a walk too?" Lexi sounded like she was lying; Ace didn't let this slip by.

"Lexi, what else?" He sounded concerned.

"He, he did keep looking at me weirdly, which is one of the reasons I came back, but I swear he started to follow me, until he saw there was more than one tent here."

Ace looked at her with pity. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, but it kinda creeped me out." Lexi frowned.

"Well, I'm here, the guys are here- He won't bother you with us around. I'll tell the guys, just so we can keep an eye out for him. You know, have a little talk with him if we see him." Ace sounded confident, but also very angry that someone may have tried to assault her, or worse. Especially where neither he nor the others would have been in earshot, and so wouldn't have been able to come to her aid.

"Thanks Ace, but you don't need to…"

Ace interrupted her by pressing a finger to her lips. "No. Lex, he could've done anything to you, and we wouldn't have known about it, and we wouldn't have been able to help you. That guy needs to be taught a lesson. Besides, what if he tried to do it again, then what?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lexi smiled. "I love you, so much!" She hugged Ace, while he put one arm around her, as he was still carrying her. "Oh, and for the record, I _can _look after myself you know."

"I know Lexi; I just don't want that guy to be intimidatin' ya"

"Yeah, well you're starting to sound like my dad!" She giggled.

"And what's so bad about that?"

"He's insanely over-protective and annoying."

Ace smiled and put Lexi back down, ruffling her hair with his hand as he did so. "I'm not _that _bad." He smiled.

"Yeah you are!" Lexi exclaimed in mock annoyance, "My dad always does that!" She tried to smooth down her hair with her hands.

"Nah, you can sort that out easily." Ace put his arm around Lexi as they walked over to the fire together. The two sat down on a log and watched the fire burn and crackle in silence.

Soon, Rev and Slam, left their individual tents and joined the two around the campfire, followed by Tech and later, Duck.

"So-guys-did-everyone-have-a-good-night-sleep,-I-couldn't-sleep-for-ages-because-I-had-such-a-great-idea,- and-I-can't-wait-to-tell-you-guys-it-would-be-such-a-fun-thing-to-do!" Rev, naturally, piped up as he was making their breakfast.

"Oh no!" Duck groaned. "I slept on a rock last night and I couldn't get to sleep, and I'm not going on some 'awesomely fun'-_nature_ bound-'journey of discovery'-hippy hiking…"

"…Swimming." Rev announced smugly.

"Well hello!" Duck perked up hearing this, but slumped back down. "Wait, where, it better not be in some river!" Duck put on a grim face as he looked towards the river he had almost drowned in the day before.

"No Duck!" Ace smiled. "The Lake." He said, gesturing towards the lake behind the water-fowl. "Crystal clear and safe for swimming in"

"Didn't you read the brochure?" Lexi raised an eyebrow.

"Well, er…um…You know, I should go and get my bathing suit, wait we all should!" Duck added getting up, he was about to run off to his tent when he was stopped by the sight of Lexi grimacing. "What?" He asked her, puzzled.

"Just make sure you put on your bathing suit _before _you leave your tent, okay." Lexi raised an eyebrow while the rest of the team smiled. "There are some things here I _really _do not need to see!" Though she sent a small smile to Ace, but no-one else noticed.

Duck chuckled before putting an arm around Lexi. "Don't worry Lex, you'll learn to appreciate a guy when you're married and have kids."

Lexi rolled her eyes and lifted Duck's arm off of her shoulder. "Yeah sure, like _that's _ever gonna happen."

Duck stopped outside his tent. "Nah, it might. You never know." He winked at her before entering his tent, leaving Lexi stunned outside.

"Don't listen to 'im Lex." Ace put his hands on Lexi's shoulders and lead her to her tent,

"I never do." She smiled, as Ace entered his own tent.

* * *

Roughly ten minutes later, the team met near their campfire, with their normal clothes on but their swim suits underneath.

"So-is-everyone-ready-to-go-to-the-lake-for-a-swim-huh?-I-can't-wait-it's-gonna-be-so-much-fun-but-first-we've-gotta-walk-there,- but-once-we-have-got-there-we'll-be-able-to-swim-it'll-be-so-totally-sweet-sweet-sweet!"

"Walk, you mean…we have to…" Duck put on a grim expression as he pointed to where the group were currently standing, to the Lake. "…WALK, about, oh I don't know...about a kilometre away!"

"Yeah Duck." Lexi raised an eyebrow, "what happened to obtaining your super-hero physique?"

"Ahh, you're despicable." Duck pointed at her.

Lexi glared at him, before moving his hand away. "Yeah, just be careful where you're pointing mister."

Duck snickered.

"Oh grow up!"

Duck smiled to himself as he followed the rest of the team, as they moved west, down the river-bank, and through the trees, their shadows growing long and dark as they walked further and further away from the glaring morning sun.

* * *

"Wow, the lake _is_ beautiful!" Tech commented as they broke through a gap in the trees. They still had a fair way to walk until they arrived at the lake-side.

"Yeah, sure whatever…." Duck grumbled as he swatted some flies out of his face. But it's stinkin' hot out here, when we will get there!"

"We'll get there, when we get there." Ace sighed; he rolled his eyes as he continued walking. He almost forgot to mention to the others about the strange and dodgy man Lexi had seen, and been intimidated by; while she was out on her walk. But he decided to tell them when they arrived at the lake.

Lexi seemed wary; she continued to look thoroughly at her surroundings, as though she knew of eminent danger, or was simply just concerned - the appearance of the strange man still fresh in her mind. She didn't like the thought of the others having to look out for her, especially since she was a super hero.

The very thought brought her back to the weeks after a fateful day back home in Utah, _the _day. The day where she lost all of her trust in men, even her brothers and father, after which she had to go to counselling so she could regain her trust for all her friends and family who happened to be of the opposing gender. She hated how after it, her dad had become very protective of her sisters and her mother, and especially Lexi herself. She loathed how her brothers and close male companions had to _baby-sit _her and her twin-sister, when they usually had the freedom to wander the forests near where they lived, but then they had to come with them in fear of something like it ever happening again.

She hadn't told her team-mates of it _yet; _fearing that they would take pity on her and treat her as though she couldn't be let out of their sight. They already had a mutual _instinct _to lookout for her and protect her in particular- even Duck. Whether it was because she was female, she wasn't sure, but she did like the _slight _feeling of freedom she had with them, but sometimes she did feel like she was being locked in a cage, as they would always ask her where she was going and when she would be back if she ever made even the slightest attempt to leave their head-quarters. And of course one of them would always offer to go with her, and inevitably end up with her; which made shopping for _certain feminine items _difficult. Sometimes she was able to distract whoever got the short straw, or send them away when shopping for female necessities. The last thing she needed was a guy with her when she was buying more _personal _items, especially if any of the media decided to document the day that one of them was with her on such an occasion. If the news reached her family back in Utah, she'd be screwed, and so would the rest of the team.

She almost jumped into Ace's arms when there was a loud thump and a rustling of plants, as Duck fell over a tree-root, cursing to himself, even though it was perfectly audible to the rest of the team.

Ace shook his head, in slight annoyance. "You know it's rude to swear in front of a lady Duck." He smirked. Duck blew a raspberry and stood up, regaining his composure.

"Yeah well, you hang around with guys long enough and this kind of stuff happens." Duck suavely remarked. "Which reminds me Lexi: You should really get out more, spend some time with other women you know, fill that empty void you call your life!" He sneered. Slam seemed to emit a low growl while Rev, Ace and Tech simply sent hostile glares at their so called water-fowl _friend_.

Lexi gritted her teeth and was about to answer, but knew better than to stoop to his level. She rolled he eyes and continued on, Ace and Tech soon catching up with her as Rev easily ran past them.

* * *

After another ten minutes of walking, the six friends arrived at the Lake side, they had found a spot where they could see their campsite from, and so they could always check that no-one was stealing anything.

"Phew, we're here…finally!" Duck sighed in triumph as he collapsed in the sand.

"Well done!" Lexi commented sarcastically. She sat down on a rock and simply looked out over the lake. Ace came and sat with her, whispering something in her ear that the others didn't catch. Lexi looked at Ace with a contradicting look on her face, but Ace shook his head and whispered something else to her; that seemed to make her reconsider. She nodded reluctantly, and hugged her knees as Ace called for the attention of the rest of the group.

"Guys. We need to talk." He commanded sternly.

Rev immediately ran over to the two bunnies and smiled, ready to receive whatever information Ace was going to pass on. Tech, Duck and Slam looked at Ace quizzically, but walked over to their leader anyway.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Duck sounded impatient "I really need to go for a swim, or I'm gonna become a roast Duck over here."

Slam grinned and licked his lips. Duck noticed. "And _this_ Duck is not for the consumption of anyone!"

"Wow Duck, I'm just surprised you knew the word consumption, and used it properly in a sentence!" Tech smirked at Duck, who had stuck is tongue out at the Canine. "…Yeah, real mature." Tech muttered as he turned back to Ace.

Ace looked annoyed, that the team found themselves so easily distracted. "…anyway." He gave Duck a warning look. Lexi sighed. "Look, Lex went for a walk this mornin' while we were still asleep and she said she saw a really dodgy lookin' guy staring at her, and…she thinks he started to follow her back to camp, but stopped when he realised that she mustn't have been the only one of us."

"Yeah so?" Duck sounded annoyed. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Ace looked as though he was going to lose it. "Duck, do you not have any clue what he could've done to her? And we wouldn't have known about it until it was too late!"

Duck flinched, but quickly regained his poise. "Ohhhhh, you mean he could've…"

"…Yeah, Duck." Lexi interrupted him, not wanting to hear word he would've next used.

"Are you okay?" Tech's concerned voice broke the awkward pause between the six Anthros.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a bit of a fright." Lexi replied, slightly sourly.

"Well-what-did-he-look-like? - Maybe-then-we-could-catch-him." Rev asked, in his usual fast paced manner.

Lexi seemed to hesitate, thinking, "Umm, he had shoulder length blonde hair, light skin, white vest, jeans…and I think he was probably the height of Ace." She grimaced at the thought of the man.

"Wait; well…was he anthro or human?" Duck asked. He too now seemed concerned, that or he was just trying to make the conversation speed up so he could go swimming.

"Human." Lexi replied simply.

"Sixvj jskfjslfks!" Slam grumbled, determinedly.

"Yeah Slam. Don't worry Lex, we'll sort him out." Tech smiled.

"Thanks guys." Lexi seemed a lot cheerier. "Anyway…" She smiled.

"Let's go for a swim." Ace smiled, seeing Duck and Rev's faces light up.

* * *

"CANONBALL!" Rev shouted as he tuck-jumped into the Lake. He was the first in, the others wanted to know from him what the temperature was like before they themselves went it.

There was a loud splash as the avian hit the water. It took him a few seconds before he broke the surface, flicking his comb out of his face, along with some water, and addressed the team.

"Wow-the-water's-great-here!" Rev grinned. "It's nice and warm, but not too warm! Come on in guys!" Rev gestured for them to come in.

The team's swim shorts were all the colour of their uniforms, save Lexi, who had on a pink and green bikini, but she wasn't exactly planning on swimming.

Duck and Slam soon joined Rev in the lake, taking the avian by surprise by jumping in simultaneously, but on either side of Rev, who let out a gasp before being submerged in the wave caused by their descent, and the almighty splash that followed it. Rev however wasn't deterred and simply laughed when he swum back up.

Duck chuckled. "Hey, are you guys comin' in or what?"

Tech was sitting on a towel reading, Lexi was next to him, lying on her stomach listening to her iPod. Ace, who sat by Lexi's other side; was simply watching the whole scene from the Lake side, and occasionally glancing at Lexi.

In answer to Duck's question, Ace and Tech looked at each other, and then at Lexi, the two of them both getting the same idea as they grinned at each other.

"Hey Lex…" Ace started.

Hearing her name, Lexi took her earplugs out of her ears, and moved her iPod to the side. "Hmm?"

"…exactly how much do you trust us?" Ace gestured his head to Tech too as he spoke.

"A lot…why?" She addressed them both, only to have them grin before they both picked her up. Lexi struggled when she realised they were bringing her closer to the water's edge. "You guys wouldn't dare!" She giggled.

Tech and Ace swung her backwards before throwing her in. The two smiled when Lexi broke the surface and pushed her dripping wet hair out of her eyes. "Okay, that was _really_ mean!"

Ace dived in, and took his place by her side in the water, flicking his head to the side and successfully removing excess water from his eyes. Lastly Tech came in, a few moments after Ace.

"I am so going to get the two of you for that!" Lexi playfully splashed some water at Tech, but it missed him and hit Rev.

"Yeah well I'm gonna get _you _for that!"

Soon the six Loonatics were having fun, swimming frantically away from each other, as they splashed water to and fro each of them desperately trying to hide behind something, usually Slam.

As Lexi slowly paddled away from Slam's back she found herself pressed against Ace. He smiled and hugged her from behind, wrapping his arms around her, and resting them on her hips. "I hope there are no hard feelings from what happened earlier?" Ace whispered, resting his head on the back of her neck.

"Hmm, maybe there is, maybe there isn't. But that's my secret." Lexi whispered back. Before sliding downwards and swimming underwater. Ace, without hesitation followed her. She instinctively turned around and smiled at him. He quickly swam forward, taking Lexi by surprise. He wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her, before pulling the two of them up to the surface.

"Well I think I'm gonna get out now." Lexi started to swim towards the edge, but was stopped by Rev. "What?"

"Why-are-you-gonna-get-out?" Rev whined, sounding more like a child rather than a twenty year old.

"Because Rev, I'm getting cold" She smiled at him. "But I'm sure I'll warm up soon and I'll come back in, hopefully by choice this time." She looked over Rev's shoulder and addressed Tech and Ace as she said this, before lifting herself out of the lake, and sitting on the side.

Ace swam over to Lexi after Rev had swum off to join the others. He crossed his arms and rested them on her legs as he looked up at her. "So, you gonna come back in later."

"Most Likely." Lexi smiled. She leant forwards and kissed him, before she stood up and draped her towel over herself. She switched on her iPod and started to listen to Linkin Park again.

* * *

It was about half an hour since Lexi got out and rest of the team continued swimming, and talking between them. Lexi was about to join them back in the lake when she noticed a shadow that loomed over her. She looked up at whoever made it, _him_. She jumped in fright and gasped at the sight of the man she had _'met' _earlier.

"Hey!" Came Ace's shout from the Lake, he and the other Loonatics had turned their attention to the man standing over their friend. "Stay away from her!" Ace gritted his teeth, the description Lexi had given them of the strange man she had seen that morning fit with his appearance perfectly.

The man grabbed hold of Lexi's wrist, earning a small shriek out of her as his nails dug into her skin. She was still sitting down, and the fact that the man had his attention focused on the male Loonatics, who were now getting out of the lake, ready to fight off the man, gave Lexi the chance to kick his shin, unbalancing him.

That however didn't deter him, but made him angry as he turned around to face her. "Oh you are gonna pay for _that_!" He started to walk towards her, as Lexi stood up, and backed away from him.

The rest of the Loonatics, were slightly wary to try and apprehend him, fearing he'd use her against them, or harm her if he had any weapons on him. It was only after Lexi fell backwards over a rock, and the man stood over her, that they decided think of any way to stop him that they could.

Lexi glared at the man, she knew he wouldn't do anything to her with the guys near by, but she couldn't help the gut feeling of complete vulnerability she felt, as she could only stare up at him; fearing the worst.

She recalled the same feeling she had almost three years ago; back in Utah. She was in the same situation, but the only difference was that there was no-one there to help her; and the man got away with what he did. She remembered how traumatised she was afterwards; she was shaking in fear, and was in pain. All she had wanted to do was get home to where it was safe, but she couldn't move; frozen in fear, not able to scream-until she was later found, lifted up and carried home by one of her brothers who was sent out to find her after she hadn't returned home. She also thought of how she had hit his chest because she felt uncomfortable with him after what had happened, but when she arrived home; she just broke down and cried.

'_Never again' _she thought to herself. She glared at the man, before kicking him hard in the groin, all the anger and sorrow she had felt being unleashed in that kick.

No sooner had the man doubled over in pain and stumbled backwards in agony, did Tech and Slam restrain him. While Ace grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and sent a menacing warning to the man, that if he ever came close to her, or anyone else with the same intentions, he wouldn't be waking up-ever.

Ace wasn't usually the threatening type, but under the circumstances he didn't care what happened to the man, he just wanted him away from Lexi and away from her for good.

Tech let go of the man and growled at him, while Slam gave him a shove in the opposite direction, to the team and to their camp, the man looked back at them, but hastily started walking through the woods when Ace's irises changed from ice-blue, to a hot yellow and red combination.

Ace powered down after the man was out of sight, before running over to Lexi, who seemed shaken up after the whole ordeal, the rest of the team followed, crouching or standing by her, as Ace bent over to see if she was okay.

"Lexi? Are you…" He started.

Lexi stared at him, completely terrified. "Is…is he gone?"

"Yeah, he's gone now Lex" Ace leant forwards and hugged her, Lexi gripping to him like a vice as small tears rolled down her furry cheeks. "And he's not gonna bother you again." He whispered.

While Ace and Lexi shared their hug after the tense moment, the other four Loonatics began to pack up the things that they had brought. The sun was beginning to set, and they had originally hoped to be back at camp before night-fall, something they weren't sure they'd be able to accomplish.

Ace pulled away from Lexi slightly when he felt her relax more. He stared at her, before locking lips with her. After he pulled away he wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, offering a hand out to her. She took it and stood up. They all began to put their clothes back on, the ones they were wearing as they walked to the lake, and embarked on their walk back to camp.

* * *

The Loonatics returned to the camp-site, faster than it took them to walk from the camp to the lake, having not really talked at all during their trek back to camp.

Rev, once again made their dinner, and for the most part, they all sat in silence eating, until Ace broke the silence. "I'm sorry Lex."

Lexi turned her head to her left hand side and looked at Ace. She knew what he was getting at. "Don't worry about it guys…I'm fine." She answered, slightly shakily.

"Lexi, are you sure. I mean, I guess it's understandable: But you looked….really scared back there." Tech queried.

"Well come on genius." Duck sighed. "How would you feel in her situation?" The team stared at Duck, awe-struck. Duck having empathy was something they all assumed was impossible for him to feel, obviously they were mistaken.

"Yeah, well I guess…You're right Duck." That was something else unbelievable, Duck knowing something that Tech didn't.

'_What more surprises are gonna come? The next thing we'll find out is that Rev can be quiet for more that two minutes…' _Ace thought to himself.

"Yeah-Duck, -good-point-and-Lexi-are-you-sure-you're-okay-you-know-you-can-talk-to-us-about-anything-right?" Rev asked, concerned.

'…_And I was wrong.' _Ace smiled to himself.

Lexi seemed annoyed. "Yeah, I'm fine guys! Can we just drop it already, I'd rather forget about it!"

* * *

"Lexi, I love you okay. And I always want to know that you're okay. But, you seemed distant this evening at Dinner, like you were thinking about something. Is everything okay?" Ace asked as he watched Lexi lie down in her sleeping bag, a strange look settled itself upon her face.

"It's nothing Ace." She replied. "I was just thinking of something, that's all."

Ace looked at her sceptically, but accepted the piece of information none the less. "Okay Lex, whatever you say." Ace got up and went to leave the tent.

Noticing that, Lexi kicked off the covers and sat up. "Ace wait!" She called frantically.

Ace knew that leaving was one of the ways to get her to talk; he turned around and faced her. "What?"

"Ace please don't leave me alone, I'm… scared."

"Lexi, you've got nothing to be scared of, that guy is gone, and he's not coming back. What's gotton into you, you're not usually like this?"

Lexi sighed, and her ears drooped. Ace put an arm around her as he sat down next to her. "Okay… I lied. I'm not fine. I got really scared of that guy today, both times when I saw him. It was kind of obvious, what he was thinking."

Ace nodded, and continued to listen intently. "And remember yesterday, when I snapped at you…b…be…because you asked me why I didn't…talk to you guys when we first met?"

"Yeah" Ace replied, "what's this about?"

Lexi took a breath, but slumped in posture. "Please don't say anything to the guys about this."

"I promise, I won't." Ace assured her.

"…Then, I'll tell you."

**

* * *

**


	16. Returning Home

** I apologise for the late entry of this chapter, I couldn't access my login account due to a technical glitch on the web site, and for that I am sorry.**

**The next chapter may take a longer time to be published, as I am currently suffering from a harsh writer's block!**

**But I will of course try to update ASAP!**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER-** I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOACATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

**.**Lexi screamed when the man grabbed her and forced her to the ground. "Ace!" She called in desperation.

Ace looked at the situation in horror, the screams and pleads for help that came from Lexi was almost unbearable for him. Ace ran to the man and grabbed his shirt, pulling him away from Lexi, but the man quickly threw a punch, it hit Ace, square on in the chest, and knocked him backwards. He recovered by flipping backwards, skidding on the floor, but keeping his hand in contact with the ground to keep him balanced. Ace ran at the man who simply grabbed him and threw him away and into unconsciousness.

Ace regained his senses when he heard the desperate calls and cries of Lexi, who was powerless against the man. But it was too late, and Ace could only watch; tears forming in his eyes as he saw his best friend, and girlfriend fall victim to the man's assault. Ace tried to get up, and make a vain attempt to save her but couldn't. His limbs betrayed him, his current strength not permitting him to stand and fight.

Ace couldn't bear to watch anymore, he grit his teeth, hung his head, and cried into the ground.

--

Ace bolted up right in bed. Sweat covering his fur, he panted and his heart thumped hard in his chest.

Again he looked to his right to check that Lexi was there, and that she was okay. Once satisfied he bent down and kissed her, she was still fast asleep, and after leaning over her and checking the time on her iPod, she had a good reason to still be.

The clock read 4:17am. Ace sighed and lay back down, this was the fourth time he had woken up, he was still quite tired; but he didn't want to go back to sleep.

Lexi had told him about why she was so 'out of the ordinary' last night, he of course was out raged about what had happened to her; so Ace and Lexi were still awake about an hour into the morning, after Lexi had told him everything, and he had of course asked her questions and comforted her about it when she got a little bit teary thinking about the ordeal.

Lexi had fallen asleep at about 1:00am. Ace however was still shocked and angry about what had happened to her, but he couldn't have done anything about it anyway. But all night he had had bad dreams about it, some of them were just of Lexi herself when it happened to her, in which Ace could only watch in horror; not being able to do anything to help her. And some of them: Ace was there, trying to fight off the man that was trying to hurt her, but Ace kept losing to him, and seeing it happen to her, or seeing her hurt badly in front of him.

Ace had bolted up right for the most of the night through fright, and was constantly checking that Lexi was there and was okay. Then he would kiss her, and try to get back to sleep.

'_Not this time, not again.' _Ace thought. He carefully pushed the covers back off of him, and quietly left the tent. He walked out to the raised river bank, and sat on a small tree-stump. He looked up at the stars, there were so many of them, all different sizes, their light differing. He smiled. It was so different here from what it was like back in Acmetropolis, there was so much light pollution there, that it was difficult to see any stars at night, except on rare occasions when the moon wasn't up, and if you sat in a certain spot.-The Loonatics were lucky, sometimes they could see stars from the hanger of their head-quarters.

Ace had often found Lexi there, watching the stars. She said she used to always watch them with her dad, where they'd talk about anything. Ace had sometimes sat and watched them with her, but sometimes he left her to think-which is what he presumed she was doing.

Ace kicked a stone that was in front of him. He hated the feeling of helplessness, just as much in a dream as in the real world. He stared at the ground, usually dreams of him and his friends were funny; and he would usually recall events where they were enjoying themselves together. And dreams where he and Lexi were together were usually fun too, just like normally.

He sighed, until he heard the crunching and cracking of twigs and leaves. Curious, he turned around only to see Lexi staring down at him looking concerned. Ace smiled, he turned himself around on the tree stump and pulled her onto his lap, there wasn't enough room for two people anyway. "Ace what are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you da same question." Ace smiled mischievously.

"I asked you first!" Lexi poked him in the chest.

Ace didn't answer, but he smiled at her.

"What?" Lexi asked quizzically.

Again Ace didn't answer, but pressed his lips against hers, and kissed her.

The two parted to breathe. "I love ya Lex." Ace grinned as he hugged her. Lexi smiled and returned the hug.

"So, what are you doing out here?" Lexi broke the hug and stared up at Ace.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Bad dream?" Lexi asked. Ace nodded. Lexi gave him a pitiful smile, "Same, but we're both okay, we'll be fine as long as we have each other!"

Lexi put a hand to Ace's cheek for comfort. "I know." He replied.

The sun started to appear over the horizon and Lexi and Ace continued to sit together and watched it rise, the same fiery colours never boring them.

Soon Tech came out of his tent, he smiled when he saw the two together, even though he didn't want to ruin the moment for them; he needed to talk to Ace.

"Err, excuse me…chief?" Tech asked, slightly awkwardly. Lexi immediately jumped off Ace's lap as the two turned around to face their coyote friend.

"Er, Yeah?" Ace asked as he stood up. He could feel himself blushing, which was most likely the reason behind why Lexi was giggling, but Ace ignored the heat that came to his cheeks…and the incessant giggling of his girl friend.

"I just wanted to know if we were leaving today, or if we were staying another day?" Tech asked, he smiled when Ace looked lost for words, turned to Lexi who shrugged, and then turned back to face Tech.

"Well, I guess with dat basher ball game bein' on Saturday night and its Friday today, we can't really stay here if we wanna make sure you guys get to da game on time." Ace replied, the three walked back to the camp-fire, which Tech must've lit when he came out. The trio sat down on the logs and continued to talk.

"So Ace." Tech started. "Are you sure you don't wanna go to the game, you can have my ticket if you want."

"Nah." Ace replied smiling. "You go, spend some time with da guys, Rev spends so much time tryin' ta get ya out of da lab, I think he'd like it if you went. Besides," Ace put his arm around Lexi. "Lexi'll be lonely otherwise."

Lexi rolled her eyes and smiled. "I wouldn't be."

Tech leaned forwards casually. "Yeah, what makes you think I'd just stay in my lab and not keep Lexi Company?"

'_My brain'_ Ace thought, but he didn't verbalise it, he just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know, I just figured dat was most likely where you'd be."

"Yeah, you're right there." Tech smiled.

--

Lexi, Tech and Ace sat together talking for about two hours. When the rest of the team emerged from their tents it was 6:48am. After the team had eaten breakfast, And Ace had told them that they were leaving that day, the team separated into their tents to pack up.

After about an hour, they had all put their tents down and packed their bags, and even taken some group photos, and some photos of the landscape. They walked through the bush, past the ranger's station. And waited at a ferry dock, after which they spent half an hour of journeying along the rivers, they got off and took a two hour bus journey back to Acmetropolis, where they walked back to their head quarters.

--

"Wow, who knew sitting down and walking for long amounts of time can make you so tired?" Duck pondered to know-one in particular as he collapsed on the sofa.

"Everyone." The team replied at the same time, as they went about doing their separate things. Lexi went to get a glass of water from the kitchen, Duck joined her in there.

"So, how are you and lover-boy doing?" Duck raised his eyebrows, after he was sure that the rest of the team were out of ear shot. Lexi's eyes shot open, and she barely managed to keep the water in her mouth. She gulped it down, before turning to Duck.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She looked quite angry and had her hands rested on her hips, to gain authority towards the water-fowl.

Duck held his ground as he looked at the time. 11:08am. "I was just asking, is there a problem with that?"

Lexi sighed and put down her glass. "No, I guess there isn't." She replied as she walked out of the room and into her own.

--

Some few minutes after Lexi had entered he room, Ace knocked on her door. "Lexi, can I come in?" He asked.

"Yeah, you can"

Ace came in, noticing that she was lying down on her hammock, staring up at the ceiling. "Something wrong?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

Lexi looked up at him and sighed. "Kinda, I just feel really stressed today, and it's driving me mad!"

Ace put on a guilty smile as he thought of an answer. "Well…You did have a late night last night. Maybe you're just tired, try and get some sleep."

"Yeah, good idea." Lexi sighed. Ace got up and took a blanket out of one of her draws and draped it over her. "Thanks." She smiled.

Ace kissed her before closing her curtains and leaving the room, the two steel doors shutting behind him. As he turned around, Ace was met with the sight of Tech, back in his uniform, standing with his arms crossed over his chest; glaring at him.

"What were you doing in there?" Tech asked, a low rumbling erupting from his throat.

Ace decided to be condescending. "What's it to you?"

"Lexi's my friend, our friend. What were you doing in her room?"

Ace sighed. "Look Tech, we had a late night last night, and she was stressed earlier, so I just told her to get some sleep."

Tech already had his questions and suspicions, even before Ace had finished his explanation. "_We? _What do you mean '_we_ had a late night last night?' what were the two of you doing?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "We were _talking_. She was scared about that guy from the lake." Ace decided to not mention that he and Lexi had been sharing a tent for the past two nights. It was fine that the other Loonatics new about their relationship, but what they didn't know was some of the more…_personal _details, and the fact that Ace and Lexi had been sharing their beds since their first date. Ace wasn't sure how the team would take _that _peace of information, so they didn't mention it just to be safe. What the rest of the team didn't know…wouldn't hurt him.

Tech pressed up against Ace, trying to be threatening. "Just make sure you don't do anything you'll regret." And he walked off to his lab. Ace started to mumble under his breath, cursing to himself that he wasn't careful before he came out of Lexi's room. He quickly entered his room, and change into his Loonatic Uniform, just as the rest of the team had done, before entering the living space and sitting at the sofa with Slam, Rev and Duck and watching the TV with them.

--

At about 5:00pm, after the other members of the team had long since had their lunch, Lexi woke up. Her room was slightly lit by some light seeping through a gap in her curtains. She squinted, the light that hadn't adjusted to her eyes making her vision estranged.

Among being carried, Lexi also hated 'napping' she would always wake up dizzy, with a headache, disorientated and tired. She pushed the covers back and stood up, feeling slightly shaky. She walked slowly around her hammock, placing her hand on her hammock to help steady her; she stood still for a few moments, regaining her stance and vision. She slowly walked to her door, yawing whilst doing so.

Lexi opened her door and walked into the main room, Tech must have been in his lab, but the rest of the team were still watching TV. They turned and said their hellos, but continued to watch whatever was currently on.

Ace got up and walked over to Lexi, putting his hands on her shoulders, he kissed her, playing with her hair. "Lexi, you okay?" he spoke quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just confused." She held her head a bit.

Ace looked concerned, "Why, what's wrong?"

Lexi smiled. "Don't worry Ace, it happens whenever I nap. For some reason I get dizzy and disorientated; that's why I don't like Napping."

Ace seemed to sigh in relief. "Well dat's okay den. You wanna sit down with us? We're just watchin' TV for now, but we were thinkin' of grabbin' Tech after dinner and watchin' a movie."

"Okay Ace, But I think I should probably get some lunch first."

--

It was 8:00pm and the team were all sitting down about to watch a film together. Rev and Tech were setting up the movie, while Duck and Slam fetched drinks and snacks.

Lexi and Ace sat together on the sofa talking; Lexi had her legs crossed and was sitting side on to the sofa, facing Ace, who sat relaxed by her side. Once he and Rev were finished; Tech sat on the other side of Lexi, while Rev sat on the adjoining corner part of the couch. Slam and Duck carried popcorn and drinks over to where they planned to sit, and sat down with their food, offering it to the others.

Rev took the opportunity to sit with them so he could easily consume some of the snacks without interrupting the film for Ace, Tech and Lexi.

When the film began Lexi turned forwards to face the screen, glancing at Tech as she did so; the coyote met her quick stare and eyed her intently as if he was expecting her to say or do something, Lexi quickly turned away and nestled herself into Ace, while he put his arm around her. They had decided to watch a horror film, something Lexi had originally objected to; but reluctantly gave in and decided not to argue-she had Ace with her anyway.

Duck who had noticed her troubled gaze and obvious objection to watch the film had an idea. He waited until there was some suspense in the scene that was playing, before announcing that he was 'getting a drink' and quacking just on the raised ledge which was the floor behind the sofa. He slowly and quietly walked over to where Ace, Lexi and Tech sat. He smiled when he saw Lexi grip onto Ace through anticipation of what would be shown next on the film, oblivious to Duck's presence.

Duck could barely hold in his laughter as he bent down to where Lexi and Ace were. He carefully moved his hand over the sofa back and rested it above Lexi's shoulder; he quickly shot his hand down and grabbed her arm. She gasped and jumped up, Tech and Ace looking at her in alarm. They turned their heads to Duck angrily. "DUCK!"

By this point Rev had already paused the film and turned on the lights in their head-quarters, illuminating the rain that was falling outside. Duck rolled around on the floor laughing, while Lexi panted in fright, trying to control her racing heart. She glared menacingly at Duck as Ace shot a small laser beam at the water-fowl's backside.

"Yeeow!" Duck jumped into the air, clutching his 'derrière' as he cursed. He rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry at the bunny couple, mumbling something about only having a laugh.

"Lexi, are you okay?" Tech asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Lexi glared at Duck a final time before resuming her previous position as Rev turned the light back off, and they continued to watch the film.

--

"Wow…I'm beat!" Duck yawned as he stretched out on the sofa.

"Yeah, same. I'll be in the lab if anyone needs me." Tech sighed as he got up off of the sofa. The film had ended and the team were now tired and were beginning to separate into their individual rooms for the night.

"…Yeah, but no one will." Duck smirked at the coyote, and quacking himself into his bedroom before Tech could get angry at him.

"Sfjskfjs sfklskfll bed!"

"Yeah-same-Slam–I'm-going-to-bed-too." Rev yawned, and spoke slightly more slowly than he usually did. He and Slam too got up and retired to their rooms for the night, leaving Lexi and Ace alone in the main room.

Lexi stood up, slightly shakily. "Man, that film was creepy!"

Ace stood up next to her, "Nah, it wasn't _dat_ bad. Just remember ta never answer a door if you're in a supposedly haunted apartment buildin'." Ace smiled as he took Lexi's hand and led her into his room, the two of them checking around them before entering his room together.

Inside, Ace's room was dark, and he could feel Lexi's hand clutch his tightly, as Ace felt around for the light-switch. "Come on Lexi" He smiled as he pulled her over to his bed, "Nothin's in here….well, nothin' other dan us and everythin' dat's normally in here." He smirked.

Lexi sat down at the foot of his bed and sighed. "I know, but…this is why I don't like horror films, they creep me out."

"Don't worry Lex, you've got me." Ace smiled. He walked around to his side of the bed and pulled back the covers; he retrieved his pyjamas and looked at Lexi. "Are…you, not gonna get your pyjamas?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah!" Lexi smiled as she stood up, She somewhat hesitated, and looked back at Ace before leaving his room, and entering her room. She switched on her light and walked over to one of her draws and pulled out her pyjamas. She hastily put them on and brushed her teeth in her bathroom, before using her super hearing to check that no-one else was around, leaving her room, and returning to Ace's once more.

She walked in and noticed that the main light was off and a small amount of light was coming from his bathroom, Lexi heard an electric toothbrush and knew he was cleaning his teeth. She leant against the wall by the door for a while, until Ace finally emerged.

He smiled and put his arms around her flat stomach and rested his head on her right shoulder, and guided her through his room and back to his bed. He lifted is head off of her shoulder and she sat at the foot of his bed again, while he sat in his spot. "What are you doin'?" He smirked.

"Sittin' here." Lexi smiled. She looked around his dark room before crawling over to him, and sliding her legs under the covers.

Ace shook his head and smiled. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gently pulled her down next to him. "I love you Lex." He smiled as she fidgeted a bit, before finding a comfortable position and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too Ace." She smiled as she rolled over, facing him, her torso resting on his; and kissed him. Ace kissed her back happily, and brought a hand up to rest on the back of her head, and played with her ears. Lexi pulled away, and sat up slightly, leaning over him while she gazed at him.

Ace smiled and sat up too, "What's up?"

"Nothing!" Lexi smirked as she played with the fur on his chest. "I was wondering if there was any possible way that I could get back at you for throwing me in the lake yesterday."

Ace rolled his eyes and pushed her down, "You can't beat me." He smiled.

"Dang it." Lexi sighed; she flicked some of her hair out of her eyes and smiled up at Ace. "I bet there are some things that I could beat you at."

"Really?"

"Yep!" Lexi grinned.

"I don't think so!" Ace smiled as he hit her lightly with a pillow. "Cause I'm always one step ahead of ya."

Lexi giggled and pulled him down, the pillow dividing their torsos. "Yeah well…." Lexi tried to think of something. Ace smiled and played with her hair, he kissed her before leaning up and getting off of her.

"Nah, you're right….I'm not good at everythin', so don't loose any sleep over dis."

Lexi smiled and sighed again, her pyjama top deflating along with her diaphragm area as it 'shrunk' as she exhaled. The pyjama top moving slightly, and revealing a small glint of silver that caught Ace's attention.

"What's dat?" He asked as he looked down at her.

Lexi smirked. "My chest, duh!"

"I know dat." Ace smiled. He reached down and felt a small chain around her neck; he sifted it through his fingers and found a small pendant. He pulled it from underneath her pyjama top and looked at it, a small locket. It was the shape of an ellipse, and had a small star, moon and sun engraving on it; it was silver, and slightly rough to the touch.

"What's dis?" He asked, as he eyed the metal work, feeling the indentations with his fingers. It was amazing how so much incredible detail could go into such a small item, and considering how old it looked, Ace was very impressed at the facet of the necklace and of course how much of a good condition it was in.

Lexi looked up, slightly awkwardly and answered his query. "It's my locket. Well actually it was passed down to me from my mother. Apparently there's over two _hundred_ years worth of history where at least one female family member was a gymnast, and it was passed down through the generations from each mother to her daughter, well…which ever one took up gymnastics. Neither of my sisters took much interest in it, so my mum gave it to me."

Ace smiled. "Interestin'." He opened up the locket carefully, not wanting the delicate item to break; there was a photo of a woman who looked like Lexi, only slightly older, performing the splits on a narrow beam. "Who's dis?"

"That's my mum." Lexi replied, "It seems that every time the locket has been passed down it's had the photo of whoever had it before-hand put into it, my mum gave it to me…so her photo is in it."

" So, what's gonna happen with it now, is it down to us?"

Lexi sat up, awe-struck. "What?"

"Well, I mean…." Ace seemed to blush. "Well, will whoever dis is given to next depend on us?"

Lexi looked at the locket in thought. "I…guess?"

"Wait, so does dis mean we have to have a kid?" Ace looked a bit worried.

Lexi smiled. "No. And no demons from the grave will haunt us for all eternity if this isn't passed down." She chuckled. Ace seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "Besides, who's to say that if you and I did have kids, that at least one of them would be a girl and would even take interest in gymnastics?"

"Yeah, I guess…." Ace looked somewhat confused.

"Besides, my little sister Teresa….kinda likes it, so I could always give it to her if I wanted to."

"….Yeah…" Ace didn't seem as though he was listening. Lexi noticed this and sat up, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Ace, what's wrong?"

"Nothin'. It's just dat, would you…would you ever… you know, _want_ to have kids?" Ace looked at Lexi thoughtfully.

Lexi looked taken aback. "Whoa! Umm…Well, I don't know…it, its weird. And we don't really need to be thinking about this kind of thing now I mean, we're only dating."

Ace pressed on. "Yeah well you know, have you ever considered it?"

"Well, I don't really actually know why people could bring themselves to have kids." Lexi looked apprehensive. "I mean, for one it's carrying round a ball of squishy gooey…_life_ in your abdomen for nine months and having to deal with all the crap that comes with pregnancy, and then there's the whole giving birth thing…I mean, I don't know about you…But to me it seems… _really_ painful." Ace smirked at her little rant but let her continue. "And then there's the whole, _Life _thing again. I mean it's screaming, pooping, hungry, crying… _life_. I've always been scared of that; you know…what if you do something wrong?"

Ace hugged her. "You're right; we don't need to be thinkin' of dis kind of t'ing now. Don't worry about it."

Lexi pulled away from his embrace. What about you? Have you ever thought about that?"

Ace hesitated, "Yeah a few times. You know, when you see couples with babies' dey all seem to look so happy. And you always wonder if it could ever be the same for yourself, but with us…I don't know…I mean, don't get me wrong, I t'ink we'd make great parents but…It would be…difficult." He sighed, and dropped his gaze, staring down at the bed sheets in a motionless gaze.

Lexi looked at him with pity. "…Yeah…" She too looked down, but only briefly. She leant forwards and kissed him, playfully pushing him back as she did so.

Ace smiled and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and ruffling her hair. Lexi soon pulled away and he smiled up at her, she looked at him casually, running her index finger through the fur on his stomach, he never had ever really worn a shirt to bed. She made little shapes in his fur as her finger ran along the soft grey coat, Ace seemed to find the sensation relaxing and closed his eyes. "I should really teach you how to meditate Lex, it comes in handy." He mumbled, possibly had it not been for Lexi's super hearing, she never would have heard him.

"Yeah" She nodded too; As Ace wrapped his arms around her thin waist and pulled her down next to him.

"I always find it helps with stress, It might do you some good…." Ace winced, he shouldn't have said the last part, now she was probably angry.

"Yeah…It probably beats my method of cooling off by a mile!" Lexi's answer shocked Ace, he sat up and looked down at her, analysing her expression, her mood. Was she tricking him, lulling him into a false sense of security like a praying mantis, right before it strikes? '_Whoa'_ Ace thought as he shook off the strange thought. '_I have got to stop listening to Duck about his thoughts on women, not that I ever take his advice or word for it anyway...'_

"Wait." Ace turned his head and looked down at Lexi, "What _is _your method of cooling down?"

Lexi rolled her eyes, she had hoped he wouldn't ask that question. "You know, every now and then, when I seem to disappear out of the room for ages?"

Ace thought for a moment. "…yeah?"

"Well, that's what I do. It turns out living with a bunch of guys can be _really _infuriating. So...I usually listen to a sad song, and just…cry out everything."

Ace tensed up, like an animal sensing danger when Lexi said the word 'cry'. "What?" Ace looked at her, trying to make some sense out of it, again he studied her expression. He was good a reading people, whether it was his enhanced vision that made that easy he couldn't be sure. "You mean…dat's what you do?" Ace arched his eyebrows, thinking, "Is dat why you always send me and Rev away when we try and see what's wrong wid ya?"

Lexi nodded slowly, it seemed silly to tell a guy that. Her Sister, Sam always understood, so did her mother. Unless it was because they were female and got stressed and upset sometimes too, could most likely be the reason why. "Well…sometimes I take a bath?" Lexi grinned sheepishly.

"Lex," Ace hesitated. "Are you sure dat's really...you know…a good…way to deal wid stress?" He played with her hair as he spoke. "I mean, won't dat just eat ya up wid depression?"

"No." Lexi sighed. "It's actually proven to be a good way to sort out stress, I mean…It's better than self harm, or taking it out on someone else. Besides. I always find that after I have a good cry about it, everything seems okay, it gives me a chance to think things over. You know, all the emotions just vanish and I feel a lot better."

Ace still looked at her sceptically. '_Why couldn't she just talk to them about what was bothering her, instead of bottling it up inside her so much that she actually had to cry to make herself feel better?_' Ace thought, he decided to verbalise it.

Lexi looked slightly ashamed. "I didn't want you guys to worry…or think I was weak because I let my emotions get the better of me…and you know what Duck's like."

"Yeah, well couldn't ya have come and talked ta me about it? Or Rev, or Tech…or even Slam?" He couldn't help the apprehension in his voice. "We wouldn't make fun of ya for dat. I mean, I'm you're leader. It's my job ta look out for all of ya…especially you. Rev, he can make anyone feel better…Tech, He'd understand…"

"…Yeah, well he'd probably be too busy to listen to me." Lexi interrupted sourly.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Really? I don't t'ink he would for you. He might for Duck…or even _us_….but I don't t'ink he would send ya away. I t'ink he has a bit of a soft spot for ya…da same wid Rev." Ace felt a strange sensation wash over him as he said that. It wasn't jealousy, but he felt…some form of anger towards them…whether it was the reptilian instinct in his brain kicking in, the primitive part of his brain; the one that claims the territory and females that males naturally would do in the wild. He had that feeling about him sometimes, and he had a notion that the other guys did too. Maybe it was something to do with the Anthros' structure-both physical and mental. With both animal and human qualities in them…rather than long evolved ape qualities that the humans had, perhaps it made Anthros still have more…'Neanderthal' instincts and techniques within them, that they inherited from their animal ancestors. But he wasn't sure about Lexi; maybe he'd ask her about that…And talk to Tech about Anthro instincts being intertwined with those of their animal heritage. "…And Slam's a good listener too." Ace almost forgot his original point.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lexi sighed. Ace thought of this as the opportunity to ask her about the questions he pondered in his mind, only a few moments ago.

"Hey Lex…" Ace started. Lexi looked back up at him. Ace wasn't exactly sure how he would word his query. "Do you ever get dese…dese weird feelin's?

Lexi looked up at Ace quizzically, "What?"

Ace sighed. "It…It's difficult ta explain. I mean, do you ever get dese weird feelin's, feelin's dat you only really thought dat animals could experience?"

"Well…yeah, I…guess?" Lexi looked puzzled.

Ace decided to take a different approach. "Ya know, wid males…dey tend to be more territorial, fight off any male invaders, win over the females right?"

"Right…Yeah..." Lexi seemed a little bit surer of what he was saying.

"Well, do ya ever get weird feelin's like dat…I mean, like what a female animal would get?"

Lexi thought for a moment. "I get nervous around groups of men that I'm not familiar with?" She looked around as she thought, "And I sometimes get this need to make sure you guys are okay…Like if one of you is sick or something."

"Hmm…" Ace thought. "That might have somet'in' ta do wid it."

"Something to do with what?" Lexi asked, Ace still hadn't told her why he was asking her all of those questions.

"Well, sometimes the guys and I get weird feelin's like…around you."

The question caught the female off guard, and she naturally tensed up. "What do you mean?" She sounded scared.

"Okay, Lex…It's not anything that you would need to be scared of. But you know, we get protective of you…"

"…Yeah, Like hadn't noticed _that_." Lexi interrupted him sarcastically.

Ace smirked. He lay down next to her, having already glanced at his bed-side clock, it was almost midnight, and the two of them had been talking for just under an hour. "Yeah, well that's a lot better than us being negligent towards you."

"Yeah…" Lexi scooted over to Ace, once again resting her head on his chest. "…That's true. I love you." She kissed him before settling herself down again.

"I love you too Lex." Ace smiled as he put one of his arms around her securely. And the two of them, once again, slept together in each other's arms.

* * *


	17. Back To Work Part 1

**Well As I predicted...It _did _take me a while to write and upload the chapter.**

**I have literally _just _finished the few finishing touches to it, but; like I always do, I have proof-read it several times, so hopefully it will be okay.**

**Also, this chapter is _slightly _shorter than the ones preceeding it, they were about 22-23 Microsoft Word pages, This one is only 19, but I'm sure I'll get away with that :P**

**I have eneded this chapter in a bit of a strange place. I felt that if I stopped it before they're called to a mission it would be too short. But If I cotinued through the rest, it woud be very long, and I'm sure some of you would be asleep before you finished reading it! **

**So...I'm sorry to say, there will be another delay for the next chapter, I know roughly what I need to do for it, but getting it typed up and wording it in, plus adding the neccesary detail...and, as I'm sure some of you will understand, it will take a while to do that!**

**Thank you all for your reveiws, and I'm very grateful that you have endeavoured to continue reading these very long chapters, and putting up with the long time ittakes me to update. I'd give you all cookies for that...but I _really _suck at cooking. So It's safe to say that I'm doing you a favour!**

**Thank you!**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER-** I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

"Hey Tech." Ace asked, knocking on the door of the lab as he entered.

"Yes Ace?" He heard a muffled answer coming from the coyote. Ace walked in slowly, not wanting to damage anything. He looked around for the team's resident genius but couldn't find him.

"Er, Tech…Where are ya?" Ace looked around, becoming slightly concerned for the well being of his friend.

Ace heard a small grunt, and a muffled. "Over here" coming from behind the bunny. Suddenly there was a loud roaring that made Ace cover his ears, and most likely would have made Lexi double over in pain with her super-hearing, had she not been grocery shopping with Slam.

Ace turned around, the only sign of the desert canine he could identify being the two green tinted ears that emerged from underneath a work bench. The yellow bunny walked over, trying to work out what Tech was doing.

Sure enough the Coyote wheeled himself out from underneath the steal structure on what looked like a long, square skateboard. "Sorry Chief, I needed to finish welding one of the steal joints in place or it would've fallen apart on top of me…again." He rubbed the small of his back, before facing his leader. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothin's wrong Tech. I just wanted ta ask ya a question dat I thought of last night."

Tech looked at Ace strangely. _What _was he talking about?

"I was just t'inking. Ya know wid that guy, back when we were campin', that creeped Lexi out?" Ace leant against one of Tech's work benches as he spoke.

"Yeah?" Tech sat down on his chair by one of his super computers, still facing the bunny as he did so.

"Ya know, we've all, us I mean not Lexi, have all had dis strange…determination, to look after Lexi?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, do you ever get dis weird, almost chilling feelin' go up your spine whenever she needs help …or get unusually…angry if she's in trouble?"

"Yeah…I do."

"Well, I was just wonderin' if maybe it had anything ta do wid us bein' Anthros. Ya know, whether we have more of a larger reptilian brain rather dan a knowledgeable brain like the humans do…well, minus you-unless there were more Anthros back where you grew up. But I have a feelin' there weren't? We're not exactly the most common form of…_intelligent _species here."

"Yeah" Tech rubbed his chin in thought. "I have always thought about that. I mean, back at the Acme Tech institute, there were hardly any Anthros…in fact…I do recall me being the only one there. And I'm sure I've heard Lex mention that she was picked on a lot in high school and college for being the only Anthro there…well except with her siblings I suppose. So maybe there aren't that many Anthros around?"

"Yeah, But anyway…do you t'ink because we still have more animal qualities rather dan da humans we don't have such an evolved brain like dey do, I mean…heck yeah we're smart…but, I don't know, I've always thought we had more…"

"…Animal in us." Tech finished. "Yeah, I agree. In fact, when we were first brought together as a team I started to wonder that myself. I had always wondered how many other Anthros were out there, and now I know…But yes, when I collected blood samples from everyone, to analyse whether there were any signs of radiation trapped in our bodies after the meteor; I did begin to wonder that too. I mean, we are shorter than most adult humans…we have the same physique, and the same internal structure…well, apart from the tail and teeth." Tech flashed his perfectly white canines at Ace, proving hid point. "Yes. I do believe it is possible that our brains are different to those of the humans, but a lot remains the same." Tech finished. He stood up, and was about to pick up his welding torch and mask when he was stopped by Ace placing his hand on the canine's shoulder.

"Wait, what do you mean 'A lot remains the same'?"

Tech sighed and put down the tools. "Come on Ace you're a smart guy, think about it. We don't walk on four feet, we can talk…we wear clothes…"

"…Yeah well, dats just because not all the fur grows in da same places." Ace chuckled, but let the coyote continue.

"Precisely. But also, through…maturity, the same thing happens to us that also happens to humans."

"Yeah, I knew dat one Tech." Ace answered monotonly.

"Well, you asked." Tech shrugged his shoulders. "Just remember, not all of our qualities fit with the same biology as our animal ancestors. I mean, in the animal world with females, their hips don't tend to be wider than the males, they might be just slightly to help with pregnancy, but they're not of a substantial amount like they are with humans and with Anthros. It's the same with male animals and how they don't usually have wider shoulders than those of females. Whereas if we stood you next to Lexi, we would be able to point out many different qualities between males and females that only really exist in humans and some kinds of primates. So we're not all the same as our ancestors…I'd like to think it was a nice mix of both." Tech smiled.

Ace returned the gesture. "Yeah. T'anks Tech." Ace patted him on the back as he left, the Coyote wincing as he did so. When he was sure that Ace was out of the room Tech sighed.

"Man, I really need to work out more."

* * *

"It's-the-Basherball-game-tonight- it's-the-Basherball-game-tonight- it's-the-Basherball-game-tonight- it's-the-Basherball-game-tonight- it's-the-Basherball-game-tonight!" Rev ran around the main room in their head quarters dusting, but never ceasing to hide his anticipation to see the Basherball game that night.

Duck grumbled, putting his hands over his ears while he tried to 'read' the magazine he sat with on the sofa.

"Hmm, I wonder if Rev's excited about the Basherball game tonight." Ace commented sarcastically as he walked into the room.

Duck grunted in acknowledgement, and rolled his eyes before returning to his magazine. "At least you haven't been sitting here for the past _HOUR_ listening to it!" Duck sat up, raising his voice to hint to the fast-talking avian that he was getting annoyed with the constant chatter. Rev took no notice, and continued. Duck sighed and slumped in posture, "Oh go and dust the broom closet or somethin'"

"Okay-Duck!" Rev grinned as he ran full speed past Ace. "Oh-morning-Ace!" The bird reversed back and briefly stopped in front of the yellow rabbit, acknowledging the fact that he was there, before speeding past him again, Ace's ears blowing as he did so.

"Go and dust da broom closet?" Ace raised an eyebrow as he walked over to the annoyed water-fowl.

Duck sat up, and smirked. "Get's him out of here doesn't it? Maybe if we're lucky he'll get lost in there."

Ace shot the Duck a displeasing look. "Duck, it's a broom _closet. _How could he get lost?"

"Let's not wonder, let's hope." Duck grinned before returning to his magazine. He hesitated for a moment as Ace sat down near him; Duck looked up, moving the magazine onto the coffee table, and addressing his leader. "So…how are you and Lex doing?" He raised an eyebrow.

The question surprised Ace. "…fine, why?" He looked at Duck suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at the thought of Duck being jealous, or simply being too inquisitive for his own good.

"Don't know, just wondering." Duck smiled, before moving to the side and looking over the rabbit's shoulder. He jumped up in surprise after reading the time on the clock. "Whoa! It's almost time for Misty Breeze's 'a quarter of an hour passed noon' weather report!" Duck jumped up and grabbed the remote, changing the channel until he found the image of the lady herself. Duck almost melted into the sofa as he sat back down, Ace rolled his eyes and stood up to leave.

"Well…I'll be in the trainin' room if ya need me…" Ace looked back at Duck as he walked up the small set of steps from the sofa.

Duck waved his hand, grunting as he watched his favourite TV personality report the weather, not really paying any attention to his leader.

Despite Duck's apparent lack of assertiveness due to the person on the TV, both he and Ace turned their heads to the main door as it opened, a small breeze entering the room, and a Purple and Black clad Tasmanian emerging from the elevator.

"Krr shdf sfjsojfs annoying!" Slam grunted as he walked into the main room; carrying several brown paper bags, Lexi in tow, carrying a considerably smaller amount of bags compared to the stronger and larger Tasmanian devil in front of her.

"I know Slam." Lexi sighed as she put her bags on one of the benches in the kitchen.

"What's up?" Ace walked over to the duo as they sat down at the table that separated the kitchen from the main room, overlooking the TV and living area, and the panoramic, wall-length window that overlooked the city.

"It was just really full in the grocery store this morning…afternoon" Lexi glanced at her watch as she was speaking, realising that she and the purple devil had spent the most of their morning shopping for food.

"sheef ghsoslf amdadl ages!" Slam sounded upset, and slumped in posture. The Loonatics never really got up late in the morning, except when they had had late nights, they never liked to miss large amounts of their days, especially if it could be their last as a team; a grim factor that they all considered but never liked to verbalise.

Lexi put her hand on Slam's shoulder, comforting him. "Don't worry Slam, we'll get a chance to do what we want today, I mean…it's only like…12:15." Lexi turned back to Ace. "Shall we grab Tech and get some grub?" Slam perked up as she said this, and he immediately stood up, taking Lexi by the waist and setting her down next to Ace, while she giggled at his actions. The purple Loonatic immediately started to prepare their lunch, throwing miscellaneous items out of the cupboards and the fridge while he grumbled almost unintelligible words of delight.

Lexi smirked while Ace shook his head in mock annoyance, "Come on den, let's get da coyote, he isn't eatin' without da rest of us… again" Ace started as he walked towards the narrow hallway, with Lexi in tow. There were no windows, so it was usually dark, there were five bedrooms on either side of the corridor, each closed door facing the opposite one, six rooms for the Loonatics' themselves, with the remaining rooms, that were situated further from the main room than the Loonatics' rooms, being spare rooms for visitors. There were small supply and cleaning cupboards towards the end of the narrow walkway, and at the end of the corridor: Tech's lab.

* * *

The bunny duo walked down the dark corridor, talking about what happened in the morning while they weren't together, nearing Tech's lab. Suddenly, to their right, Rev fell out of the broom cupboard, with his duster falling on his head. Lexi flinched while Ace looked down at the avian, smiling.

"Phew!-I-got-a-bit-creeped-out-in-there,-it-was-so-dark-I-couldn't-work-out-where-the-door-was-thanks-guys,-If-I-hadn't-heard-you-guys-coming-I-wouldn't-have-gotton-out-of-here!" Rev smiled as Ace held out a hand to help him up. "Thanks-Ace." He grinned. "So-where-are-the-two-of-you-going?" Rev eyed the two, before glaring at Ace, who stared at him sceptically.

Lexi looked around, trying to identify why Rev would suddenly be looking at Ace so intently. That was why, she bit her lip, Lexi and Ace had inadvertently found themselves outside of Ace bedroom; the two of them together being found standing outside of Ace's room must've looked very suspicious. Lexi hugged one of her arms through nervousness, she turned around and grinned sheepishly at Rev, before realising how guilty it made her look and quickly erasing the expression from her face.

"Rev, we're grabbin' Tech for lunch. What's da deal?" Ace shrugged his shoulders at the suspicious and hostile looking bird.

Lexi nudged Ace in the side of his arm and gestured behind them, Ace soon realised what the bird was getting at, and returned the glare, he swiftly turned to his left and continued towards Tech's lab. Rev turned back to Lexi, who hesitated before following the male rabbit ahead of her, Rev pursued the duo; wanting to make sure they were going to Tech's lab like they said they were.

Ace knocked loudly on the door of Tech's lab, before crossing his arms over his chest in an annoyed manner. Lexi stood next to him, glancing from Rev, who looked equally annoyed, and Ace who refused to make eye contact with the bird opposite him. She stood between the two males, aloof, her stance becoming rigid as she felt the two pairs of eyes stare at her intently, as if scanning every part of her. She sighed; Ace put an arm around her while they waited for an answer from the coyote.

After a few minutes of waiting, which seemed like an eternity to the trio, the two steel doors opened, a mechanical whir accompanying the motion. The three looked at each other, each wondering if they should go in or not, finally Rev walked in; he never really cared if Tech told him off for being in there, it happened enough anyway.

Ace and Lexi hesitated before following, carefully stepping over stray wires, the trio walked towards the main part of Tech's lab. Monitors, metal frames, tables, chairs, desks and wires littered the room. The scene was familiar to the Loonatics, the lab was always in a cluttered state whenever the coyote had a sudden wave of inspiration, or was simply building something new.

The group flinched, just like Ace had heard previously, a loud roaring echoed around the lab and just as Ace had feared-Lexi shut her eyes tightly, desperately flattening her sensitive ears down against her head, while she sank to her knees in agony.

Ace darted down next to her, and put his arms around her for comfort as he pulled her against him, as if it would shield her from the loud noise; he and Rev weren't affected by the noise, and it merely caught them off guard. Rev ran towards Tech, practically whacking the welding mask off of the coyote, and pulling him upwards. Tech, realising that Rev was there, turned off the gas supply to the welding torch and shut it off and faced the road runner. "Rev, don't do that! You should be thankful that I let you in!"

"Oh-trust-me-Tech-o'-pal,-I-am!-But-Lexi-and-Ace-came-too.-They-were-the-ones-who-were-coming-to-get-you-in-the-first-place,-I-just-followed-them-because…" Rev cut himself off, he didn't want to say too much.

"Wait Ace, and…Lexi!" Tech's eyes widened in alarm, he looked down at his welding torch, before dumping it on the work bench and running over to the two bunnies, and Rev sighed before following. He hadn't finished saying what he wanted to say to Tech, but he'd talk to him later, once the rabbits were gone.

Tech crouched down beside Lexi, while Rev stood before her, looking down at the two bunnies, Ace still had his arms around the female, and the sight made a strange sensation wash over the bird. He wasn't jealous of Ace and Lexi's relationship, but he had a yearning feeling inside of him. _He_ wanted to be the one who sat there comforting her, he didn't feel as though he _loved _Lexi in the same way as Ace did, but after seeing the suspicious looking circumstances earlier in the corridor, he felt a feeling like anger course through him. It was almost as though he felt so protective of her that he felt as though the person she loved, who also looked after the entire team, couldn't be trusted with her. He hated the feeling, he liked Ace- they were good friends, but he also hated the feeling that something wasn't right between the two; like they were hiding something. He'd never accuse them of anything…without proof, but still; he was beginning to lose his patience with them.

"Lexi are you okay?" Tech put his hand on her shoulder, he was worried that the roaring from his high-powered welding torch had hurt her, or even impaired her hearing.

Slowly, Lexi moved out of Ace's embrace, Rev almost let out a sigh of relief, but he knew that it would draw attention to himself and so he refrained from the action. "Yeah, I'm fine. Well I will be once my ears stop ringing." She reached up, probing her sensitive, silky ears through her fingers, as if the touch would somehow relieve the ringing that bounced around in her head.

Tech frowned and held out a hand for Lexi, helping her up after he and Ace had stood up themselves. "Sorry about that" He rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed fashion.

Lexi placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, the worst that could happen is me going deaf." She smirked, shrugging her shoulders.

Tech rolled his eyes, smirking "Don't tease me. Anyway, why were the three of you here anyway?"

"Slam's makin' lunch. Lexi and I were comin' to get ya, and Rev…decided… to follow." Ace sent a glare across to the mentioned bird while Lexi warily looked between the three males, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the hostility between Rev and Ace, and the now obvious look of scepticism from Tech who glared between the two, silently demanding an answer.

"Oh Boy…" Lexi sighed, but her sarcastic comment came out louder than she had expected, and the three males simultaneously turned their attention to her. Lexi was daunted by it, and half hid herself behind Ace, "…Sorry… that…came out louder than I had hoped…" She said through some hesitation, quietly, before stepping back out and making herself completely visible again.

"…Anyway, Slam's probably gonna be done soon, we should go." Ace broke the awkward pause between the four as he announced his departure, with Lexi in tow.

After the two bunnies had left, Rev turned to Tech. "Have-you-noticed-anything-weird-going-on-between-Lexi-and-Ace-at-the-moment?"

Tech hesitated before giving Rev a sceptical look, "Rev, they're going out. There's nothing wrong with that…" Rev cut him off.

"No-no-no-no-no!" He shook his hands frantically. "I-know-that! But-don't-you-think-they're-hiding-something?"

"Now come on Rev." Tech addressed his friend sternly. "It's their relationship. They don't need to tell us about everything that they do together."

"No-No-No, when-I-fell-out-of-the-broom-closet-the-two-of-them-were-outside-of-Ace's-room; Lexi-looked-very-guilty-and-Ace-just-glared-at-me-when-I-looked-at-them-funny-because-of-it."

Tech looked at Rev strangely, he knew that he himself had had his suspicions, but he decided to ignore Rev's comment. As suspicious as it did sound, there could have been many logical explanations, and he didn't want to confront the two about it if he was wrong, and he especially didn't want to get on the bad side of Ace about it. He seemed less than comfortable with Tech and Rev being around Lexi, especially when they were alone.

He sighed, there was no use in jumping to conclusions, and as concerned as Rev was he knew that letting it pass was best. The duo left the lab in silence to join the others in the kitchen area. The rest of the team were waiting for them, Lexi and Slam were bringing the food over to the table, while Ace and Duck sat in relative silence.

Tech and Rev exchanged glances before sitting down at the table. Rev sat on the end of the table, opposite to Slam who now sat down on the other side of the table to him, sending a toothy grin across to the bird. For some reason, Rev didn't feel like smiling back, he nodded his head in acknowledgement but sent no other gestures across to the Tasmanian devil. This puzzled Slam, who could usually make anyone in the team smile, but seeing Rev like that was just…_weird _and the devil couldn't help but wonder if he had missed something that might be making his avian friend act so out of the ordinary. He pondered the thought for only a few moments however, he was about to eat; which always made him happy; if there was something wrong with Rev, he'd say something; or Tech would get the answer out of him sooner or later.

Tech noticed the actions between Rev and Slam as he sat next to Duck, facing Ace. He felt his stomach lurch, would he really be able to sit and eat in front of the male rabbit- with Lexi next to him; after he and Rev had had their little talk over the suspicious behaviour between the two?

He felt the weight of Ace's cold stare over him, crush his body, like a vice was slowly squeezing the life out of him, and decided to turn his attention to something, or someone else in the room. But instead of looking over at Rev like he would naturally do, he found himself watching Lexi, as she poured herself a glass of water from the tap. Deep down, he knew he definitely shouldn't be looking at her, especially with Ace studying him so intently like he knew he was, he felt himself start to sweat and hoped that the Ace's enhanced vision wouldn't show that, and that Lexi wouldn't noticed his rapidly beating heart beat. Was it her that was making him so giddy? He had never really thought of her in an intimate way, he always tried to make time for her, one because he knew she had a temper, but two because she was a good friend, but did he really think of her _that _way? Ace would probably kill him if he worked it out, but still; could he actually have feelings for her?

The coyote sat, pondering the thoughts in his head, he leant back in his chair, while he felt his tongue rub against his teeth. It was a habit he had developed whenever he was thinking deeply about something. Scratching his tongue against his sharp canine teeth did sting slightly, but it also had a tingling sensation about it that gave him something else to think about while he mused over things that he wanted to know about, or he wanted to hypothesize.

Duck looked at the four sitting by him, all were lost in their own little worlds, Tech was off thinking about…something, which wasn't uncommon for the green coyote to do, and didn't startle the water-fowl in the slightest. But Slam, sitting to his right, _Slam_ thinking? That was the equivalent of Tech _not_ thinking, in Duck's point of view. The Devil would normally be gorging himself now, most of the food was already of the table, so what was with the delay? Was the Devil broken? Or was he trying to develop table manners. Duck scoffed, another impossibility.

He then turned his attention to Ace. Truthfully he did respect him a lot, he could get a good conversation out of him when he could be bothered to, and he was a good man, and was quite similar to himself in certain ways, apart from Duck being an arrogant show off who, though he gave off the impression that he really didn't care about…anything, actually he did, a lot. He would be crushed if something happened to his friends-his family. But he never did understand why he couldn't just make that feeling prominent, maybe he just didn't want to be considered weak? Or maybe he felt that he just needed to be like that, to give the team something to be stern about.

He looked passed Ace, who seemed to be looking annoyed, to Rev. Personally he felt that the red bird being quiet for once was a blessing from the heavens, but he was curious to why he wasn't being his normal chatty self, in fact, He swerved his eyes over everyone. What was wrong with all of them today? They were all fine before Ace and Lexi went to Tech's lab to get him for lunch, surely nothing could've happened in that…short amount of time. Could it?

Lexi pulled up a seat next to Ace after bringing the salad bowl over to the table. She eyed the five males around her before sitting down herself.

She rested her head on her hand while the others began to eat, suddenly she had lost her appetite, and the hostility around her was making her feel sick and angry. It felt like water surrounded her heart, but it was more central to the chest; like there was a continuous funnel of water circulating on her breast bone, but there was a fire burning within it, a fire that wouldn't go out and it brought a lump to her throat. The strange sensation within her made her feel alone, as if she was the only person in a dark world around her, and truthfully it frightened her. She felt enraged at her team mates' behaviour, but was too afraid to speak up and say anything, but she felt scared, scared of the outcome, scared of her friends acting so antagonistic towards each other.

"Lexi, are you okay?" Ace placed a hand on her shoulder, looking up; Lexi realised that all five pairs of eyes were now focused on her.

"Yeah…"She sat up, furrowing her eyebrows in a confused manner. "…I'm fine." Her voice shook, Ace looked at her questioningly; he knew when she was lying to him, and judging by the expressions on everyone else's faces, they seemed to know that something was wrong with her too. She saw his questioning look, and that of the rest of the team's. "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, you don't have to continually look out for me, I can look after myself you know."

"We know Lex." Ace smiled. "…We just think that you bein' miserable kind of reciprocates to all of us, and that just sucks."

Lexi smiled and shook her head. "You guys are so pathetic sometimes! I wonder why people don't think you're funny in the head!"

"Nah Lex, we are." Duck raised an eyebrow at her, "We're guys remember."

"Wow, and all this time, I just thought you were sheep. Who knew!" Lexi smiled.

The spirits seemed to pick up from there. Either everyone in the team forgot their earlier troubles, or simply discarded them. There was no use in staying miserable, or sceptical, angry or confused when they could erupt into happiness and laughter so easily.

The all round happiness of the team was short lived however, when they received a distress signal from the mayor of Acmetropolis. Like they had done on their own com units, and with Zadavia's underwater base (Before she returned to Freleng) they had also installed them in various places throughout the city, mainly at the police department, the subterranean prison after Mallory Casey aka 'Mastermind', managed to escape, and at the Acmetropolis military weapons lab, after the infiltration of 'Time Skip'.

"It's from da mayor, Code Red. Let's jet Loonatics!" Ace commanded, standing up. He, followed by the rest of the team, ran to the hanger and put on their jet packs, before flying to the Mayor's Office, which was conveniently close to their own head quarters.

* * *

"Hostage?" Ace seemed alarmed after he spoke to the guard outside of the Mayor's office building. The Loonatics had found a distraught guard of the mayor's run out of the building during their decent and has stopped to question him about the situation that they were called to, but weren't informed of the details to why they were summoned.

"Yes." The man panted, "Some men came in through the windows demanding the mayor, we tried to fight them off but they had…guns…they dropped small smoke bombs into the building too, I think…from what I remember, it's pretty smoky in there. But I'm not too sure. It was difficult to tell, everything was so…rushed, it all happened so fast"

"Can you describe what _exactly _happened, from the point where _you _found out that they were there, and from when you got out here?" Ace asked sternly, he was taking mental notes as he tried to take in all of the facts and think of both the safety risks and what exactly was going on inside, so he could properly, and with detail; work out a plan to take down the attackers, but without risking his team's safety and their lives.

"Umm. I had just come back from the men's room; I was walking along the corridor towards my partner and superior. They were only a few metres ahead of me, they were talking and laughing, I only had to walk past the window and I'd be right next to them. But just before I got to it, the window was kicked in, it took me by surprise and I fell backwards and I dropped my gun. Someone threw in a small black box, and it started to fill the area with smoke, and they had done the same at the other windows on that floor too; and judging by the sounds from the floor above, I think they did the same there too. I knew it was dangerous to breathe in the smoke, so I got up off of the floor, and I forgot to grab my gun." He sighed and looked sour.

"I panicked, I'll admit it, but this is my third month since getting my training. I wasn't…_mentally _prepared for this, so I got scared. My friend across the window was shouting about something, but I couldn't see what was wrong, I saw that two men had jumped in through the window wearing masks, so naturally I reached for my gun; but it wasn't there. I got scared, but then I remembered dropping it, I couldn't see it on the floor because of the smoke. I had just seen the handle of it when the power cut out. I heard the sound of a grunt, and I saw that my friend had been knocked to the ground. I got down on my hands and knees to find my gun…I was determined to now. But my superior, he had seen me…somehow. He was struggling against the two infiltrators, he called out to me to get out and call for help from you. At first I was apprehensive, but one of the men turned to me and I ran." He sighed. "I feel like a coward, I should've stayed and fought."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't have accomplished anything much. You did what you were told to, and you've made the call, so we'll hopefully be able to lend a hand." Tech reassured him with a small smile.

Ace, however, looked grim, "Was anyone…shot?"

"No. Luckily not, but they did hit some people with their guns, and it knocked some of them unconscious, but I think the rest are still inside."

"How many of dem were dere?"

"Which?"

Ace sighed. "Both. How many attackers were dere?"

"I'm not sure, it was all too confusing, I guess it was about a dozen, give or take I'm not entirely sure. How many of _us_ were there, that was probably about fifteen, five on each level of the building. I think someone must've hacked into the central power unit, the distress signal must've had a small back-up to it, but everything else has shut down; the power, the heating, the lights…everything!"

"How easy is it to see in there?" Lexi asked, she stood next to Ace now, while the other four members were positioned almost in an arc shape, facing the guard, behind the two bunnies.

The guard turned his attention from Ace to the female rabbit beside him; he looked her up and down before replying. "It's fairly dark. There are windows, luckily it's a sunny day so there is some natural light inside, but it's not as light as it could be, and with the shards of broken glass and who knows what on the floor, I think it would definitely be better if it were lighter."

Lexi nodded, "Thanks for that. But next time try talking to my face instead of everything below it." She glared at him, "Last time I checked my eyes were here, not here." She pointed from her _actual _eyes to her chest before crossing her arms and rolling her eyes at his stuttered apology.

The guard looked between Lexi and the other males in the team who looked somewhat angry at his actions, before dismissing himself so that he could sit down and collect himself after his ordeal inside the mayor's building.

Ace followed the guard with his eyes before turning back to the group, who now moved closer to discuss strategies to help the mayor and the remaining guards that were still in the building. "You okay Lex?" He looked at her with concern, wanting to make sure she was okay before beginning to asses the dire situation at hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She sighed. "That wasn't the first time it's happened, and it probably won't be the last." She looked over to Duck as she said the last of her sentence.

"…Well, Dat's good. Anyway, most likely they're holding da mayor on the top floor of da buildin', probably to make it harder for us. We need to work out a way to get to her, without putting her and da other guards at risk. The place is probably littered with those attackers, and I wouldn't be surprised if they tried anyt'in'." He surveyed the team, picking up their expressions and formulating a plan in his head. "So here's what we're gonna do…"

* * *


	18. Back To Work Part 2

**I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update, but I've had exams all week and they became my first priority, so in between the time I spent revising, living, Breathing, Worrying, taking a break and school, I've had very little time tp work on this chapter. I hope that it is worth the wait, 26 Microsoft Word Document pages, so it's a bit of a marathon…For that, I apologise!**

**The song that is featured towards the end of the chapter is called 'Ready Set Go' By A German Band (The Song is sung in English) called 'Tokio Hotel' I decided to choose this song over my previous choice of 'What I've Done' By 'Linkin Park' because I felt that the lyrics to 'Ready Set Go' fit more with how the story is structured towards the need of the chapter; also, it gave the ending a nice touch.**

**Speaking of ending, some of you may feel that it had somewhat of an abrupt ending (And beginning), but I felt that I couldn't write anymore or it would be too long. I think that having this story as 26 pages long is pushing it a bit, but the chapter does contain all of the necessary detail that I desired, and some action scenes that Yunno suggested. So, thanks Yunno! I have, hopefully, passed that mile stone, obviously you'd have to be the judge of whether the scenes are good enough, but, I'll leave you to decide.**

**Also, I have tried to have some of the spotlight on the other characters in this chapter (And a bit in the previous chapter) I have 'cut' the 'scenes' at various cliff hanger points within the story to add suspense, and it gives readers an opportunity to see the other groups' progress within the story!**

**On that note, I will leave you now to read. As I have said, I hope the chapter is worth the wait if not, I m sorry.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER-** I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

"Slam and Rev." Ace turned to the purple clad Tasmanian devil, and the red Roadrunner, "The two of you will stay on the ground floor. Make sure no-one gets in or out, and provide back-up for any of us if we need it."

Ace looked at Lexi and Duck and hesitated for a moment, "You two will first work on the second floor. Get rid of any attackers, and help any of da injured. Dat goes for all of you." He addressed the two groups as he said the last of his command. "Tech and I will go to da top floor, Tech," He addressed the coyote, "You need to find da central power unit, and restore power to da buildin', or at least just da lights. When you're done, give me a hand with da other attackers."

Ace turned his attention to the entire group of six. "I'll handle da demands, Lexi and Duck: come up to the top floor when you're done with your original task. Slam and Rev will _stay _on the ground floor and keep an eye out for anyt'in' suspicious and keep da attackers at bay." He looked unsettled, but felt even worse. He hated it when he had to lead his team into situations like this. If they were fighting some form of large machine, monster or other threat it was fine; everyone was together and were able to look after each other. In this situation, it was blind; no lights, smoke and armed men - against groups of two. It wasn't the best way to lead a rescue operation, but it was the best they could do. The Male rabbit drew in a deep breath, readying himself both mentally and physically. "So you all know what to do?"

All nodded, some were more uneasy than others, but like Ace they did their best to hide their anxiety.

"Den let's do dis."

--

Duck almost yelped as he fell through the window of the second floor, and narrowly missed a long, shard of sharp glass that was upturned and ready to sever his leg, had he not landed just a few centimetres away from it. "Geez," Duck surveyed the dark and cluttered corridor around him as he whispered, "These guys certainly know how to make an entrance." He turned to face Lexi as she jumped gracefully through the window and into the room.

"And a mess…" She too looked at the scene. Curtains were ripped, pot plants were broken and strewn across the floor, shards of glass littered the floor and few scattered drops of blood lay around them.

Duck wandered forward by a few steps, while Lexi stayed put, carefully looking around her and Duck to check for the original guards of the building, and any of the attackers. Once satisfied, she turned her attention back to Duck.

"So, I wonder whose blood this is." Duck commented. He examined some of the drops of blood on the carpet, and kicked some glass out of the way. "Hopefully it'll be the attackers', it'll make out job easier…" He looked back at Lexi, and the armed man standing at least two feet behind her, while she stood; completely oblivious to him.

Duck's eyes widened in alarm, and he immediately took action, "Look out Lex!" He dived forward from his position, just as Lexi turned around and realised the deadly threat behind her.

Duck quickly grabbed the female rabbit, who was taken by surprise, and with the added force of his jump, he knocked both himself and Lexi out of the way. Duck was glad that Lexi was as light weight as she was, and he easily was able to force her away as the duo tumbled and landed in a heap on the floor.

After collecting himself, Duck held his head, the room was spinning, or at least that was what it felt like to him. But what actually surprised him was how comfortable the floor was…kind of. In places it was okay, but what annoyed him was how bony the light red carpet was…wait, bony?

Lexi grunted from underneath the water-fowl, who soon realised that he had landed on top of her. He quickly sat up, and on his hands and knees, got off of her and checked to see that she was okay. Lexi awkwardly sat up next to him, and the two stared blankly at each other for a few moments, catching their breaths. "Thanks Duck" Lexi finally said.

Duck shook his head slowly, "Nah, don't worry; Just following orders." He smiled at her, but the sound of a loaded gun made both of their heads turn, and their eyes widened in horror.

The masked man who had already tried to take Lexi out, if not for Duck's quick actions, now stood before the two Loonatics on the floor, and he chuckled at the sight before raising his gun and pointing it at the two, "Yeah, well I am too..."

--

Slam grumbled as he threw two men over his shoulder and to the back of the room, they landed in a heap and the blow seemed to knock them unconscious. The Tasmanian devil smiled and looked behind him to check on Rev.

The mentioned bird was simply running in an oval shape while the attackers within the fiery loop were startled, some of them appeared to already be knocked out, while some attempted to blast the bird away.

Slam considered that Rev was safe from harm, at the speed he was moving it would be difficult for the assailants to shoot him, and Rev could easily move out of the way if he felt that their proximity became too close for comfort.

The Purple devil began his search for any of the guards, he moved swiftly and silently through the dark and smoky corridor, picking up several men as he moved. Eventually the load became too uncomfortable for the devil, plus, they themselves could risk injury if he were to accidentally drop them.

Slam activated his tornado, and spun himself out of the building. He set the men down on the stretchers that had been laid in the park, where ambulance crew attended the injured men immediately. Satisfied with what was happening, Slam turned around and spun himself back to the mayor's building.

He walked up the stairs quickly, but he didn't check his surroundings like Ace had always made them do. During missions, the team should check their surroundings constantly, whether to look for crime or people in danger. Slam always had that in mind, but getting back inside to make sure that Rev was still okay was his primary concern.

As he was about to open the door and join Rev, The purple Tasmanian devil heard a noise behind him, but it was too late; as the last thing he saw was the back of a gun that hit him hard on the back of his head. And it knocked him out cold.

--

Ace signalled with his fingers for Tech to quietly find the central power unit, and unsheathing his guardian strike sword, Ace prepared to attack.

It took Ace several moments to convince the desert canine that he would be okay without his help, before finally; Tech retreated to a small shaft in the wall.

Carefully unscrewing the screws at the corners of the panel with his magnetic powers, Tech crouched down to avoid being seen and watched Ace. He wanted to make sure that his leader would be okay; the electricity could wait if need be.

Ace walked quietly, and made sure that he was low to the ground and he couldn't be seen by the attackers. He rolled silently in front of a brown leather sofa, just next to a broken pot plant, and carefully, the male rabbit peered over the sofa.

There were two armed guards either side of a door, the door which lead to the mayor's office. Ace considered his options, not that he had many. He had to make sure that he wasn't seen by the two men and get them out of the way as quickly and as quietly as he could. If there was a struggle, someone on the inside of the mayor's office might hear him and put the mayor's life at risk.

Breathing almost silently, as he manoeuvred around the sofa, Ace hid himself behind the broad green leaves of the pot plant. He tucked his ears down and looked again, the two guards had their guns at the ready, and the slightest glance at Ace could set everything off.

Ace was about to strike when he heard a grunt, and the sound of something tumbling down the stairs. Ace, and the two guards all turned their heads towards the origin of the sound, the two guards mumbled about what it could be, losing interest in what they had obviously been assigned to do as they conversed.

The Loonatic leader would normally have checked to see what was going on, but he couldn't give his position away when he was so close. He quickly jumped up, and flipped over the plant, and landed gracefully on the floor. He stood up properly and prepared himself for battle. The two guards hesitated, they weren't expecting that. One of them reached for their gun, while the other ran towards the bunny, who jumped up, grabbing the man's shoulders, and kicking him away. The attacker stumbled and fell, crashing into the sofa behind Ace.

The other man, who had been busy working his gun, now took off the strap and discarded the item. He decided to take a different approach to the man preceding him, instead he mimicked Ace's movements. If the yellow rabbit moved left, so would he.

Ace eventually got annoyed with what was happening and began to ponder questions on his mind, while he tried to outwit the attacker opposite him, _'Where's Tech with the lights, surely he would've been back by now?_ Ace shook off the thought, as he finally was able to scurry to the door. The attacker quickly dived at him, but Ace was too quick and raised his right leg, and kicked the man out of the way. The force knocked the attacker into a wall and he collapsed.

Ace sighed with relief and, bracing himself, he slowly and carefully opened the door. Suddenly, and luckily not before anyone inside noticed the slowly opening door which was only ajar, Ace felt arms around his neck and shoulders. It was the previous man, the one who had been knocked into the sofa.

Ace grunted, and with all the power he could muster, he turned himself around slightly so that there was an empty wall ahead of him. He quickly 'ran' up the wall with his legs, and was able to pull himself free from the attacker's clutches. Ace quickly slammed the man into the wall, and pinned him there using a leg and an elbow. After catching his breath, the yellow bunny relaxed his hold on the attacker, who slipped daintily down the wall.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Ace returned to the door, and pushed it open enough for him to creep through, and surveyed the sight in front of him.

--

"Whoa!" Rev shouted in alarm as the almighty purple Tasmanian devil of the team was awkwardly thrown at him. The devil's weight knocked Rev over and he was sent cascading to the floor, Rev only had a chance to glimpse at the four armed men who had thrown Slam at him, before he hit the ground roughly and soon was pinned down by Slam's weight.

Rev tried to squeeze himself out, but it was too difficult, and he wasn't strong enough to lift the unconscious devil up just by a few inches to allow him to get out from under him.

The red avian sighed, there was no point in doing anything that would waste his energy, it was futile. He'd have to wait for Slam to come around before he would be able to move, but in his current position, Rev was stuck.

--

Ace carefully moved into the room, he squatted down and moved carefully behind a desk, no one had noticed him yet, but he still kept on his guard. Sitting up, but keeping his ears close against his head, Ace listened to what was going on at the other side of the room.

The mayor was sat on, and tied to, her desk chair, but it had been wheeled over to the panoramic wall-size window that overlooked the park below. The chair was faced away from the window however, where the mayor faced two of the armed men, who had her held at gun point.

Another man was standing by the phone at the mayor's oak desk; he was sitting on the desk examining files, while another two men were searching through books and files that _originally _were placed neatly on a dark brown oak bookcase that stretched across the length of the back wall. Now the books and files lay scattered and broken at the men's feet, as they continued to search through the items.

Ace cursed silently to himself. This was going to be more difficult than he had expected, he was up against five armed men with a hostage. He really could've used back up at this point, but Tech still wasn't back yet, and neither was the electricity. Where was Tech, and why couldn't he hear the others, Why hadn't Duck and Lexi finished yet and come up to give him and Tech aid? Ace suddenly felt a horrible, sinking feeling wash over him. Something had gone very wrong; he hadn't heard the sound of any gun fire…yet, so at least he knew there was till a chance that they were all alive…

Suddenly the door to the mayor's office burst open, sending Ace crashing to the floor, and into plain site of the mayor, and her attackers. The yellow bunny quickly rose to his feet and readied himself for any attack, but none of the original raiders were really focused on him, instead they had their eyes focused on the male Duck and Coyote, and the female Rabbit who were tossed onto the floor by two of the guards who had opened the door to 'dump' the three anthros into the room.

Ace winced as he saw them all hit the floor, unconscious. And he quickly turned to glare at the men who had brought them in, who acknowledged the fact that he was there, but did not stay, and as soon as they had entered, they left the room.

"Well," the man who had been sitting on the mayor's desk stood up, fiddling with something in his hand, he slowly walked over to Ace. "The Loonatics, looking as glamorous as ever aren't we?" He smiled, eyeing the trio on the floor.

Ace grit his teeth, "Why are you here, what do you want with da mayor?"

"In time, In time." He spoke ever so calmly, but Ace considered this; the male rabbit wasn't too much of a threat with so many armed men surrounding him, and with his team unconscious and unable to defend him, or themselves.

Ace sighed. He was at his wits end he wasn't sure how to help the mayor and he didn't want to do it alone, especially with so much at risk.

"Sit down; we can continue this talk when they wake up." The man said, he lazily pointed again at the anthros on the floor, sitting down at another chair; he simply placed his hands behind his head, and waited.

--

Slam groaned and placed a trembling hand to the back of his head. His vision was blurred and watery, and he felt someone underneath him, startled; The Tasmanian devil quickly stood up.

Turning around quickly to investigate, he found Rev, lying on the floor day dreaming; he was hastily shaken out of his trance however, by a concerned Slam who had woken him up to check that he was okay.

"Yeah-I'm-fine-Slam,-I've-just-been-under-you-for-a-while,-so-I-got-really- really- really- really- _really-_bored-so-I-guess-I-accidentally-started-to-day-dream-which-isn't-really-that-bad-after-all-but-anyway-I'm-okay,-we-really-should-keep-it-in-mind-to-look-at-our-surroundings-better-though, -not-that-I'm-blaming-you-for-knocking-me-over,-I-wasn't-fast-enough-to-move-out-of-the-way-which-is-funny-since-I'm-the-fastest-in-the-team-but-you-know-how-our-reactions-can-be-sometimes-when-we're-startled-by-something-well-actually-I-don't-know-whether-you-know-if-you-know-what-I-mean,-oh-look-there-I-go-again-rambling,-It-even-annoys-me-sometimes-that-I-can-go-off-subject-so-easily-but-you-know,- aww-man-I've-done-it-again,-really-I-should-stop-asking-if-people-know-you-know?-because-I-don't-know-if-they-know-what-I'm-talking-about…but-I'll-just-stop-now…hee-hee." Rev smiled innocently as he stood up.

Slam grinned back at the avian as he and the red bird quietly investigated the rest of the ground floor, wanting to make sure they couldn't risk something like that incident happening again.

The duo walked cautiously along the dark corridor in silence, not wanting to give away their positions to any possible foes that could be waiting for them.

"Oh-yeah-Slam!" Rev turned and quietly addressed the devil next to him, "When-those-raiders-threw-you-at-me-I-saw-that-about-four-of-them-threw-you,-so-they-might-be-here-somewhere. Or-I-guess-they-could've-gone-upstairs. Hey,-have-you-heard-from-Lexi-or-Duck,-it's-been-awfully-quiet-up-there, I-hope-they're-okay. But-I-guess-Ace-did-say-that-we-had-to-stay-down-here,-so-there's-no-point-in-worrying-about-them-if-we-don't-need-to…"

Slam suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing the red bird to discontinue with what he was saying, he too now stared straight ahead, at the man with a gun raised to the duo, standing at the other end of the corridor, at a distance of maybe five metres, and he was still in close range. Slam and Rev simultaneously looked at each other, they could easily take him, but getting into the right place to do something about the threat was the hard part, but they'd manage. They had to.

--

A green glow accompanied by a strange whirring noise wrapped itself around Tech before it disappeared and the green coyote wearily and slowly sat up. He stared, at first, at the men in the room who he was not familiar with, each doing a certain job, none of them spoke and they all had monotone expressions on their predominately masked faces.

He then turned to his left where he was met with the site of Ace, he looked annoyed at his position, sitting down, bored and defenceless, while he watched his team-mates, his friends, lie helplessly beside him, unaware of the danger. Ace looked at Tech with concern, and gestured to Lexi and Duck who sat to the right of the coyote. Tech looked down at the two in pity, while Ace leaned over to whisper to him.

"Are you okay?"

"A couple of aches and pains but I'm good. I was knocked down the stairs when one of the guards came up carrying Lex, but I think the one with Duck must've hauled me up here too. I hit my head on the stairs a couple of times so I think I was knocked out, it'd explain my aching head I guess." Tech described to his leader, before gesturing to Lexi and Duck, "What about them?"

Ace sighed, and half smiled, "You guys _were _worse earlier, all sprawled together, but I sorted you out, at least so you wouldn't be all knotted together when you woke up. Duck and Lex…" Ace rubbed the back of his head, "I not sure, you guys have been out for a while, I'm just wondering why dey haven't woken up yet."

Tech looked up at the other men in the room, making sure they weren't watching the two Loonatics, as he moved over slightly and inspected Duck's head, while Ace made sure the other men didn't see that the two of were 'up and about'. But the Loonatic leader did occasionally turn to see what Tech was doing, especially when Tech inspected Lexi.

Tech 'scooted' back to Ace after checking the two injured Loonatics and reported his findings, "I don't know chief, they're unconscious, but I just don't know why…"

Duck moaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. The sound and motion turned the heads of both Ace and Tech, the two anthros quickly asking Duck what happened, catching the water fowl off guard.

"Duck, what happened? Are you okay…is Lexi?" Ace asked frantically. Duck looked at him blankly with a scowl across his face after he felt the room begin to spin again.

"Can't a guy recover from an injury without someone bombarding me with questions?" Duck continued to rub his head as he sat up, he looked around himself as he spoke, his last gaze resting upon Lexi, who was still unconscious. "Whoa, is she okay?" Duck immediately voiced is concern for his team mate as he looked her over.

"Dats what I just asked you." Ace replied monotonly, "Duck…what happened?"

Duck drew in a breath before explaining, in marvellous detail, what had happened to him and Lexi, making sure he didn't miss any piece of vital information out. "…and then he just fired the gun, we thought it was gonna kill us, but somehow it didn't…" Duck turned his head to address Ace, "Ace…about Lexi…I heard her say your name right before we were hit, I guess…since we thought it would be the end….I guess she wanted her last thought to be of you." Duck half smiled at his leader, who looked shocked and at a loss for words.

Ace felt a lump come to his throat, he wasn't going to cry, and if he felt the need to; he'd choke back the tears. It warmed his heart to know that she would've thought of him right before the end, but it upset him that she could've been killed and he wouldn't have been there to help her. He was glad that Duck had pushed her out for the way earlier, or she may've been killed then. Duck, as arrogant as he was, did care a lot for his team, so much that he would put himself in danger to help them. And although Duck liked to hide his caring personality, Ace knew of it, but he decided not to mention it to save Duck his reputation.

Ace moved past Tech and Duck, to his right, and sat with Lexi, he rested her head on his lap and waited for her to wake up, he wanted to see her again and to see her smile and laugh.

--

Lexi stirred and moaned softly after she woke up, she had been unconscious for the longest amount of time, and the Loonatics who had been accompanying her had started to get worried.

She made a face of pain and brought a hand up to her head as she breathed in deeply, obviously in pain. Noticing this, Tech and Duck crawled over to the two bunnies, sitting themselves in front of the female rabbit to make sure that the guards in the room did not see that she had awoken, they were waiting for all of the Loonatics to wake up, and Ace had voiced that he didn't want the attackers to find them all awake, unless he knew that they were uninjured and would be able to fight or defend themselves if they needed to.

"Lex…are you okay?" Ace looked down at her, running a hand through her hair as he looked over her with concern, Lexi looked up, gave a brief smile at him; before a shot of pain ran through her head and she immediately clenched her fists and shut her eyes tightly.

Tech looked at the injured bunny with trepidation. She was in a bad way and he assumed that she may have suffered from a head injury somehow, that she hadn't recognised prior to waking up.

Tech held her head in his hands, while he caressed the right hand side, feeling for any wounds or swollen injuries to her head. He furrowed his eyebrows; he couldn't feel that there was anything wrong with her, so maybe the damage wasn't external, and was internal instead; something that the coyote feared deeply.

Tech glanced worriedly at Ace, who picked up what the coyote had discovered instantaneously. "Lexi….how…how are you feeling?" The coyote asked, he wasn't sure what he could do; they were surrounded by a deadly threat and Lexi had possibly sustained a life threatening head injury and there was very little that the coyote could work with, other than the bunny herself, to properly hypothesize and examine what was wrong with his team mate.

Lexi drew in a deep breath before replying, "I've just got this awful pain in my head…" She started, but Tech interrupted her.

"What kind of pain, jabbing…throbbing?"

"It's just throbbing, I feel thirsty and it's been a while since I last drank anything…so I'm guessing I'm just dehydrated." Lexi looked up at the three males who now stared down at her with relieved expressions painted across their faces.

"Oh," Tech blushed, he rubbed the back of his neck, he was embarrassed that he had gotton himself, and the others so worked up.

Lexi looked from Tech to Ace quizzically, "…Why…what _do_ _you_ think is wrong?"

"Don't worry Lexi; we just thought it could've been somet'in'…more…serious dan lack of water…" Ace awkwardly replied.

"But still," Tech looked troubled, "Dehydration _is _serious, we need to get you some water, or you'll be in no condition to fight…or think, depending on the severity of this."

"Yeah, dehydrated brains don't perform well…" Ace remarked as he remembered what he had always been taught back during his stunt double days. Lexi sat up from her position next to him, still holding her head, she took in her surroundings, and after realising what was going on around her she turned back to the group.

"Oh…" Was all she could think of to say, but suddenly her alarmed face transformed into one of confusion, "What are they doing?"

"No idea." Duck frowned.

"…And where's Rev and Slam?"

Ace noticed the anxiety in Lexi's voice, "Don't worry about dem" He replied sternly, "I'm sure they're fine. Right now our main concern is you, and getting out of here…with da mayor." Ace assessed the situation, "dere's only one t'ing we can do…"

"Hey!" Ace shouted over to the 'lead' attacker, who was occupying himself with a book after becoming bored with waiting for the Loonatics to wake up, he turned to look at the yellow bunny and his comrades beside him, and stood up, approaching the four with caution; gun raised, ready to fire it if need be.

Ace held up his hands defensively, "We don't mean you any harm. Could we just get a glass of water?"

The man looked startled, and he reluctantly turned his attention to the two men searching relentlessly through the book case. "Hey Joe!"

One of the men turned his head to the leader, while his companion continued with his task, "Go get some water will you?"

'Joe' looked puzzled, but, glad to be temporarily withdrawn from his book case search, he complied, and walked over to a small water dispenser. He retrieved a plastic cup from the stack and filled it with cool water, before slowly walking back to his leader, and placing the cup in one of his hands. "Here you go Tom, you need any help?" He gestured to the Loonatics, as 'Tom' handed the cup over to Ace, who in turn, gave it to Lexi.

"Drink it, all of it." Tech whispered. He commanded Lexi to drink the entire cup-full of the cool fluid; he didn't want her to risk getting hurt if she ran out of sense during any fights that seemed inevitable. Lexi unquestioningly drank.

"....No Joe. I'm fine, it'll all be over for them soon anyway." He smiled, while Joe returned to the book case obediently, before turning his attention back to the Loonatics.

"Well, Well, Well. It looks like everyone's finally woken up." Tom walked up and down, eyeing the four anthros before him, who made no movements whatsoever. "Well, I can guess why you're all here, but can you guess why I am?"

Ace scowled. "You're holdin' da mayor hostage for somet'in', we're not sure what, but dat's not exactly a priority right now."

Tom raised his eyebrows, "Not a priority, not a…!" He scoffed, outraged for an unknown reason, "That's all you guys ever care about, '_priorities' _you completely disregard everyone, or everything else unless it's a '_priority'. _What about her?" Tom pointed to the Mayor, who wasn't in ear shot, but had been eyeing the situation intently from her trust-up position on the chair. "She's the only reason you came _here_, what if there was something larger attacking down town, and who would you choose; the mayor, or hundreds of innocent citizens?"

Ace remained quiet, honestly he wasn't sure, he didn't want to contradict the man, but he definitely didn't want to admit that he had a good point.

Tom smirked, "I though that's how you'd reply. Do you think you're too good for villains like us? Do you think we're just gonna surrender to the mighty Loonatics because you're super freaks? 'Cause we're not, we have you right where we want you, defenceless and willing to do anything that we want, because of course you don't want the mayor to say her good bye's before her legitimate time has come…do you?"

Again, Ace remained quiet, and the mute actions of their leader told the rest of the Loonatics that they were to do so too. Even Duck refrained from opening his beak.

Tom's smirk vanished, and he swiftly leant forwards and grabbed Lexi by the wrist, hauled her up and held her against him. "So what about her then?" Tom smirked, nudging Lexi's arm with his gun while she remained perfectly still, not daring to talk or move, but her heart kept pounding with anxiety, and her eyes were wide with fear and shock.

Ace grit his teeth, but he had to refrain himself from making any sudden movements, he couldn't risk anything. His eyes kept focusing on three different things, Tom, the gun, and Lexi; three important factors that could lead to a devastating outcome if the situation wasn't handled carefully.

Tech and Duck had raised their heads in alarm when Tom had grabbed Lexi, she was sitting right next to them, but the sudden movement had caught them off guard, but they still felt guilty for not making an attempt to help her; and they now glared at the man, they too couldn't do anything that was too risky to save her.

Tom continued his previous rant, "Is she more important? Would you help _her _if you had to choose between all of your team mates?" Tom only addressed Ace.

Ace Looked between Lexi and Tom, "I'll cross dat bridge when I get to it…" His agitation was showing, but also the stress that was tugging at him, if he said the wrong thing; Lexi could be killed, or injured badly.

"Answer me." Tom looked and sounded like a mad man as he pulled Lexi closer to him, and pointed the gun this time, at her chest, "You've got someone's life on the line!" He smiled cynically.

Ace sighed, he looked at Tech and Duck with pity as he felt the secret flow from his lips, "I'd save her…"

Tom smiled, "I thought that would be your answer."

New forms of agitation now coursed through Ace. Not only was Lexi in grave danger, but that man had crossed the line; he had made him verbalise a secret that he hadn't given much thought to before, he knew that Duck and Tech understood, and that was the answer Tom wanted to hear anyway. "Why do you want to know anyway?" Ace hissed, he glared at the man, and he could barely hold back the temptation to shoot the man with his laser vision, but that would only cause mayhem.

"I was just wondering."

Ace now looked both confused and annoyed, "Then what do you want Lexi for?"

"I guess it's just one of the best ways to get an answer out of you…and to get you to do whatever I damn well please." He briefly looked down at Lexi, who was shaking with fear, and then over to the two men at the book case. "Hey Shane" He called to the previously unnamed man as he held Lexi by the arm, "Watch them, will you?" He gestured to the three anthros on the floor. Shane walked over, with his gun at the ready.

"Sure thing boss, can I ask where you're going with this lovely young lady here?" He placed one of his free hands on Lexi's chin, but she roughly moved her head away with a snarl. Shane scoffed, "Have fun."

"Trust me," Tom looked down at the now enraged Ace on the floor, "…I will." He grinned, as he pulled Lexi away forcefully. She did her best to fight his pull, but he was too strong, and the hold he had on her restricted her movement; sadly for her, she couldn't stop him from pulling her into another room…

--

Rev sighed with exhaustion.

He and Slam had finally taken down all of the men. The two stood back to back, panting and sweating. Eventually the two sank to the floor to collect themselves; they had been fighting for a long time. All of their surroundings were broken, some beyond repair.

The attackers had a lot of backup, and the two finally were able to get rid of them all. But it was a pain staking process; they were hungry, thirsty and were very tired. If there was another ambush they could be in trouble. They didn't have enough stamina to face up to more.

--

"Where did he take her?" Ace demanded, he had to fight the urge to stand up, he couldn't though; the three Loonatics had Shane's gun trained at them, and Ace couldn't afford to have any fatal mistakes being made.

Shane smiled, "Into another room."

"Why?" Duck glared at Shane with a hostile look that the others had never seen before.

"Because. He's the boss, I don't ask questions; I follow orders."

"Yeah. But you knew why, what's going on?" Tech asked in a quiet but intense voice that was so typical of him. He looked at Shane severely, reading him; his expression, his attitude.

"Why don't you go and find out yourself?" Shane smirked. He had them there, they wouldn't and couldn't do anything, and seeing them suffer was enjoyable for him.

Duck snarled, "Don't think we wont!" Duck hastily teleported and leaped onto Shane once he had rematerialized, and tackled the man to the ground, the waterfowl kicked the man's gun out of his hand while Ace and Tech, who had been delayed due to shock, quickly sprang into action.

Ducking and rolling, flipping and kicking; the three Loonatics fought long and hard to rid themselves of their foes, as quickly as possible.

Ace landed next to Tech, a man quickly running towards the male rabbit and preparing himself for attack.

"Ace, find Lexi…go help her. I'll take care of things here." Tech whispered to Ace sternly.

"T'anks Tech" Ace smiled, and patted him on the back. "Good luck!" And he quickly ran to the room that Tom had pulled Lexi through, carefully and quietly, he opened the door, and slipped into the darkened room.

The obscurity of the room daunted Ace, who became exceedingly worried for Lexi's safety. She had already gone through the trauma of a similar situation before, and was in fear of it happening again just a few days ago. If it happened again, Ace wasn't sure how much she would be able to take.

Ace heard movement towards the back of the room, it was quiet and the movement sounded small and hushed, and Ace feared that something bad was happening to Lexi.

Cautiously, so that Tom wouldn't hear him, Ace edged closer to where he heard the noise, as he moved he heard it again. This time it was accompanied by the sound of a slap and someone breathing out loudly. Both anger and curiosity brought Ace closer to the origin of the sound and he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to attack.

A gap in the curtains illuminated some of the room, but only in small patches that revealed objects in a bluish tint, it was only about a metre and a half ahead of him that he saw the scene that was unfolding ahead of him.

Tom had Lexi pressed against a wall, with his hands running up and down various areas of her torso, mainly around her chest, while he had his gun against her side and his lips pressed against hers while Lexi tried her best to keep his hands and lips off her, but not aggravating the dangerous man when he had a weapon against her.

Ace was outraged. How dare he do that to her! He was glad he came when he did, at least Lexi wasn't in too much of a bad way, but had he come later she might have been; Ace was about to attack when he heard Tom speak to Lexi.

"So, I wonder what you're little friends are doing right now. Obviously they have more things on their minds than helping you."

_We were running though the town  
Our senses had been drowned  
No place we hadn't been before_

Lexi glared at him, "They're doing their job. If I needed help I would've called out by now."

_We learned to live and then  
Our freedom came to an end_

Tom gave her a look of disbelief, "Really now?" He gestured his head towards the gun, "You would've risked being shot to call out for help?"

_We have to break down this wall_

"Anything's better than being here with you."

_Too young to live a lie  
Look into my eyes  
_

"Really? I'm sure I can make it worth your while. It's not like anyone else is gonna come to help you anyway. They probably don't even care." Tom raised an eyebrow, before he went to her lips again.

"You sure about that doc?" Ace tapped Tom on the shoulder and sent him a menacing glare before his fist met Tom's face.

_Ready, set, go it's time to run  
The sky is changing we are one  
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down  
_

"Don't _ever _say that again." Ace shoved the man onto the floor before checking on Lexi.

_Don't you turn around_

She had begun to cry and Ace put a hand on her cheek to wipe away the tears. "Don't worry Lexi, I'm here now." He cooed as he pulled her into a hug.

Lexi found comfort in the hug, and momentarily forgot about the man, until she realised that he was approaching Ace from behind, with the back of his gun ready to strike the male rabbit's head.

We are looking back again  
On loneliness and pain  
Never been so wide awake

_  
Breathe slowly in and out  
somewhere beyond the clouds  
I can see the morning break_

_Too young to live a lie  
Look into my eyes_

"Ace move!" She screamed.

_Ready, set, go it's time to run  
The sky is changing we are one  
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down  
_

She pushed Ace out of the way and ducked. The gun swung near her, barely missing her shoulder as Ace swiftly grabbed the man's shirt and pulled him away from her.

_Don't you turn around_

Ace kicked him in the stomach and the man sank to his knees, but not before he pulled Ace's leg, making the rabbit fall hard on his back.

_Leave it all behind you now  
The final wall is breaking down_

Tom was ready to finish the male rabbit off as he reached for his gun, but Lexi kicked it away from him and ran to help Ace onto his feet.

_We are what it's all about  
Nothing can stop us now_

Receiving no response from her partner, Lexi got onto her hands and knees to try and communicate properly with the rabbit. Ace soon sat up, and upon realising that Tom had recovered his gun and now had it trained on the two made his instincts take over as he pulled Lexi behind him, effectively using his own body to shield her from the gun.

_I promise you right know  
I never let you down_

But Ace wasn't ready to be shot and killed yet.

_Ready, set, go it's time to run  
_

A long, hot beam of laser knocked the man to the ground and effectively made him lose consciousness.

_The sky is changing we are one  
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down_

_Don't Turn Around_

Upon hearing the noise, Lexi crawled out from behind the rabbit, "Why did you do that?" She whispered to Ace as he wrapped his arms around her.

_Ready, set, go it's time to run  
The sky is changing we are one  
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down_

"It was me he wanted, I couldn't bare to see you get hurt because of me. I love you Lexi." Ace pulled away, again, removing the salty tears form her eyes, "Even if it was you he wanted, I wasn't gonna let him shoot you, even if you survived it I wouldn't want to see you suffer or die, I wouldn't be able to carry on."

_Don't you turn around  
_

Lexi drew in a deep breath and smiled at him, "Thanks then…"

_Don't you turn around_

"Yeah," Ace smiled awkwardly, "Thanks for helping too. Now lets get out of here, it's givin' be the creeps after what he tried to do with you in here." Ace stood up and took Lexi's hand. "Let's go home." The two opened the door fully and were met with a bright light.

Daylight.

_Don't you turn around  
_

* * *


	19. Home Alone Again, Kind Of

**I'm sorry that this chapter took a long time to write, but I've had time off form school, and I've had homework to do, and it's just been chilling out. By the new chapter is here!**

**I understand that this chapter isn't exactly very exciting, but I can assure you, especially in the next three chapters or so, things will start to get a lot more interesting!**

**I must warn people in advance, there are a few innuendos in this chapter.**

**

* * *

**

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

The Loonatics waved off the mayor as she was loaded into an ambulance for psychiatric care after receiving quite a shock in the mayhem of the situation at her office.

Though many of her guards were also being loaded into the emergency vehicles for more physical treatment at one of the city's nearby hospitals, they would still have to undergo medical checks, undergo treatment for shock and also be retrained and questioned by authorities after the situation was not carried out as it should have been.

The attackers were also being handcuffed, and loaded into the back of police vans, ready to be sent to the Acmetropolis Subterranean Prison, where they would too be analysed by psychiatrists, and questioned by the authorities for their actions.

"Well gang, dat was some good work today, from all of ya." Ace smiled as the Loonatics turned back to face each other, their leader praised them each individually: Slam and Rev for their endurance and ability to follow orders despite their longing urge to check on the well being of their fellow team mates.

Duck. For his quick thinking when he and Lexi were _originally _on the second floor; where the waterfowl saved Lexi's life after pushing her out of the way of an attacker who had been sneaking up on her from behind. And also for his quick actions at disarming Tom and launching a surprised attack on the rest of their new found foes after becoming tired of being a 'sitting duck'.

Tech was praised for his determination, making sure that Ace was going to be okay when the two were on the top floor and the coyote had to leave the bunny's side to restore power to the building.

Lexi was praised for her bravery, though she felt that she didn't deserve her leader's commendation, Ace had convinced her that although she was taken somewhere against her will which was a traumatic experience for her, after being held a gun-point and not crying out for aid or putting herself at risk, she showed excellent valour even in the life-threatening situation that she was in.

"I'm proud of you all, and I'm sure da mayor is too." Ace smiled, he glanced down at the built in watch on his uniform's wrist cuff, "Well, its gone 5:00, we should probably head back home, you guys are gonna need to get ready if you want to make it to da Basherball stadium before shoot off at 7:00." Ace activated his jet pack, the rest of the team following suite, and the six superheroes of Acmetropolis flew home together.

--

"Come on already Rev!" Duck called from the main room as he, Slam and Tech stood in their casual clothes; ready to go to the Basherball game that had been Rev's birthday present from Duck.

The waterfowl was wearing a Blue and white striped shirt with denim blue jeans, he also had the four tickets in his black feathered hands as he stood with his arms folded over his chest; tapping his foot impatiently.

"He'll be here in a minute, he _was _last to take a shower remember." Tech reminded the bird, he had looked back at the waterfowl after he had finished talking with Ace and Lexi about their mission. The Bunny duo stood by the sofa, away from the group. The desert Canine was wearing a green button-up shirt, with the first two buttons left undone, and a pair of blue jeans or natural brown fur.

Slam was also in casual clothes, revealing his brown fur too. The Tasmanian devil, wearing a multicoloured striped polo shirt with jeans, grumbled out loud to the assembled group, "Ehuipo ijdfj Rpfpg dhrpny cjcpd, wdfe stidf going?"

"Trust Me Slam," Duck flipped through the tickets as he spoke, before looking up and addressing the Tasmanian devil of the team, "If Rev's mauled by a _bear_, we're still going to the Basherball game."

Slam gave Duck a toothy grin, but his brown fur was soon blown by the wind shear that was made by the team's fastest member, running from his room and stopping still by the door where the four anthros stood waiting.

"Sorry-guys-I-know-it-took-a-long-time-but-I-couldn't-find-my-camera-I-was-looking-for-it-every-where-and-I-was-paniking-because-I-didn't-want-to-be-late-so-then-I-took-lots-of-time-to-find-it-because-I-was-worrying—about-being-late-and-us-missing-the-game-and-then-having-you-guys-getting-annoyed-with-me-but-then-I-remembered-that-it-was-on-my-bedside-table-after-I-had-taken-it-out-of-my-bag-after-the-camping-trip,-and-my-bedside-table-was-kinda-the-last-place-I-expected-to-have-it…so-I-kinda-didn't-look-there-until-I-was-about-to-give-up-and-get-going,-but-then-I-found-it-so-we're-good-now!" Rev grinned.

"Yeah, let's get going already then." Duck announced. Ace and Lexi approached the group of four to give them their goodbyes as they departed.

As he was about to follow the group out, Tech turned back to the bunny duo, "The game starts at 7:30, we'll get dinner there so we'll probably be home by 11:00. So, I guess we'll see you then...or in the morning…" The coyote eyed the duo suspiciously before leaving Ace and Lexi home alone.

--

"I don't see why they all look at us so…suspiciously whenever they leave the two of us alone. Why are they so concerned about what we're gonna do when they're not around!" Ace sighed as he sat down on the sofa roughly; he looked back at Lexi as she walked down the small set of steps and hesitantly sat next to him as he put his arm around her.

"Well you know," Lexi sat forwards so she could look back at Ace, "They're just concerned…I mean, with the whole…me being a girl…and you being a guy…_stuff_ can…happen…" She blushed and redirected her stare to her feet.

Ace smiled and leaned forwards, grabbing her and pulling her back against him while she giggled. "…yeah well _stuff _has happened…" Ace whispered into her ear quietly.

Lexi smirked and rolled her eyes, she stood up and stretched out. "I'm gonna go and take a quick shower…I'll be out soon, and then I'll make a start on dinner."

Ace looked up at her, surprised, "Oh…ok den, I'll be in da trainin' room den."

Lexi looked at him quizzically, and then awkwardly began to step backwards, "…Okay then…I'll be back soon…"

Lexi looked at the male bunny intently as she moved, before finally coming to a halt, "Ace, what's wrong?" She sighed as she walked back over to him and into his embrace.

"It's just dat…" Ace moved backwards slightly, so that he could look into her eyes as he spoke, Lexi mimicked his movements and stared up at him, "…I was kinda hopin' you and I could spend some more time together, you know…now dat we've finally got a chance to be alone."

Lexi stared at the ground somewhat guiltily, "Well…I guess a shower can wait 'til the morning." She smiled up at him. "_Sooooooo_, what are we gonna do?"

Ace looked at her blankly, "Umm….I'm not sure…." He blushed, while Lexi smiled at him. She looked over to the kitchen with a small sigh.

"Might as well make dinner, I suppose."

Ace gave her a pitiful look, "Y'know Lex, you and I could go out for dinner, save you cooking…I know you don't like to. I'll buy." He smiled at her.

Lexi turned her head back to face him and frowned, "No Ace. We've already been out for dinner not so long ago," She hesitated, thinking of that evening….and night, "It wouldn't be fair."

"Well, if you insist, we'll split da check."

In an annoyed fashion, Lexi blew away a stray hair from in front of her eye and sighed, "But…" She started.

Ace rolled his eyes before pressing a finger to her lips, hushing her, "Come on Lex, It'll be fun. We could see a movie afterwards too…or somethin', just da two of us, and we won't have to worry about da others interrupting anythin'…" He smiled, kissing her in the place that his finger had been.

Lexi drew in a deep breath, he had her there. He was good when it came to persuasion, "Fine then." She smiled.

"Dat's my girl," He smiled as the two walked out of the main room and into the corridor to access their rooms.

Lexi abruptly turned around and looked at him when they neared their rooms, and gave him a confused stare, "Don't ever say that again" She shook her head as she spoke before smiling up at him.

Ace, realising he had just made a fool of himself, looked down, "Sorry" He replied, smiling; he looked back up when he felt her lips on his cheek.

"Don't be sorry." She said softly as she pulled away, "See you in a few!" And she turned and went into her room.

Ace put a hand on his cheek, and grinned, "Yep."

--

"Alright ma'am, you might experience some post traumatic stress after the incident today, but I doubt you have suffered any cerebral problems, so I think you'll be just fine." The doctor pulled the small torch away from the woman's eye sight. "You weren't injured and your vitals still look good, so I think all you need is a good night sleep and you'll be fine." He stood up, allowing the slightly plump lady to rise as well.

The Mayor fixed her skirt and hair before addressing the tall, young, blond doctor in front of her, "Thank you, Doctor Mason."

The man smiled, "Any time."

The Mayor looked around the private office she had been sitting in. Her Doctor, the one standing ahead of her, was one of her most trusted associates; he had helped her through many predicaments. Especially after the shock of the meteor landing in Acmetropolis, and all of the stress that came with it for the Mayor. He was a good friend to her too.

She looked around the room, as her doctor filed away x-rays from previous patients, her eyes landed on a family photo that sat on his desk. There were several actually, some hanging on the walls, and some placed on shelves.

This particular photo was a photo of him, a shorter blond haired girl, with a larger family standing on the right of the photo. There were two, peach-tanned coloured and almost identical (if not for the hair colour and style) rabbit anthro girls, who looked about the same age as the human girl. One of the girls was hugging the human girl and was smiling, the other, a blond haired rabbit who the Mayor could vaguely recognise, was sitting on a rock with another smaller rabbit anthro. Behind the initial group, were four male rabbit anthros, who looked to be older than the two twins. The four were all wearing smart white shirts and trousers, with some badges on them, as well as naval hats. They were all smiling. Just in front of them were two other rabbit anthros. The Male, looked to be the same height as the other four, whereas the woman standing next to him was somewhat shorter. They all had smiling faces and were standing in a forested area, where the tips of distant canyons could be seen behind them, as well as the setting sun.

The photo made the Mayor smile. She turned to look at some of the other photos that were dotted around the room; they all seemed to have a selection of the same people in them; Doctor Mason and the four naval rabbit Anthros, the two anthro twins and the human girl, the youngest rabbit anthro being held by the human girl; and the bunny couple standing together.

The Mayor smiled. "So how's Leah?" She asked, turning to face Doctor Mason. "Is she still working in Utah?"

"Er, Yeah." Doctor Mason looked back and smiled. "Yeah, she's working hard. She finally got the certificate." He looked at the photo of the human girl.

The Mayor looked at him, confused, "What certificate?"

"Oh," Doctor Mason looked up, "She's trained to be both a doctor and a surgeon. She's really lucky, and I'm proud of her. It takes a lot to be able to get into _both _of those medical fields. I'll probably bid for some leave soon so I can go back and visit everyone, so I can congratulate her properly. I only got the call this morning."

The Mayor smiled, "Well…the next time you speak to her, tell her I said congratulations." She picked up her hand bag and eyed her watch, "Well I had better get going. I need to feed the cat at home, cook some dinner."

Doctor Mason seemed to be lost in thought, but he turned to face the Mayor quickly after he had snapped out of his thoughts. "Er yes. Okay, but take it easy, get plenty of rest and I'm sure you'll be fine."

The Mayor looked at him thoughtfully, "I...might be able to grant you some leave, so you can take some time off. You should be able to see your sister and friends again, especially after she's achieved something like that. I'll see what I can do." The Mayor gave him a quick smile before leaving his office.

Doctor Mason smiled, he sank down into his chair and stared fondly at the group photo and began to muse over everything. The Mayor was always true to her word. And with her kind of authority, and all of the things he had done to help the woman, it was inevitable that he would be able to go back to Utah.

He picked up the photo and looked over it fondly, remembering everything, all of the good times, how much he missed his sister and friends. He scanned his eyes over all of the faces in the group photo, remembering everyone and it made him smile, knowing he'd see them all soon as he continued to look. But his smiled slowly withered away as his eyes rested on one particular person.

He frowned as he put the photo back on his desk, lent back in his chair and sighed. "Now it would be even better if _everyone _would be back home when I got there. It would be just like old times again. Everyone, together." He shut his eyes briefly and let his gaze rest on the ceiling when he opened them again, "Why'd you have to get a job where it was difficult to leave the city? Why can't you come back home for a visit Lexi?"

--

"Okay, seats J22-J26." Duck announced as he eyed the tickets and looked along the row labelled 'J'.

The Mallard cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the two people blocking his way to the central seats in the row. Startled, the couple stood up, allowing more room for the four Loonatics to walk through, awkwardly, but still.

At the end of the small line of anthros, Tech put on an apologetic smile, and spoke quietly to the couple as he walked past and sat in his seat, "Sorry about him…"

The coyote wasn't exactly one for sports, especially _live _sports. But, being in a team of athletic anthros made it difficult for him to object to things like his. He never was good at sports in school…or _ever_. He had a fast working metabolism, so he was always thin. But he never did do much physical…_stuff _unless it was necessary…or he was forced to like in high school.

Tech slumped in posture; he'd just have to endure it. It was Rev's birthday present anyway. He had somewhat hoped that when he had offered his ticket to Ace, that the grey bunny would have taken his offering, and the coyote would have been back home in the quiet, relaxation of his Lab, or, maybe watching a movie or something with Lexi. This was just plain boring. Tech didn't even know the rules of Basherball! But he couldn't just get up and leave, Rev would be torn. The bird spent so much time trying to get his desert friend to leave the confinement of his lab that Tech actually had improved his hearing and 'sixth sense' techniques because of the amount of times that the red bird had literally pulled him from his lab after sneaking up on him.

Whenever someone looked at him, Tech would just have to smile and pretend that he was enjoying himself. Maybe he could just analyse the angles that the ball would have to be shot at for it to successfully penetrate the spiralling goal without being intercepted by another player before it reached the goal, or bouncing off of it.

Or he could study the power that the ball was shot at, and work out how the techniques and strategise of the players would have to be improved if they wanted a one hundred percent chance of winning.

Tech smiled. Physics was fun. All of the angles, formulae and mind-boggling theories were fascinating; how someone would have had to sit and work out how the universe was created, or what it is expanding into, whether the universe in fact one of many in a giant multi-verse; or whether the universe had different dimensions that would explain the concept of worm holes and increased gravity fluctuations.

At least this would give the scientist something to ponder while pretending to be interested in the game. He knew that if Rev ever found out that Tech wasn't paying any attention to the game, and in fact the coyote was devising hypothesis' he was as good as…hurt. But at least the coyote was actually at the game…right?

--

"So, I guess we're gonna have to head down to the subterranean prison tomorrow, and have our go at interrogating the hostage takers from today, find out what da heck dey thought dey were doing, and listing all of da charges…and confirming it with da police." Ace spoke quietly. The restaurant that he and Lexi were in was relatively quiet. Soft guitars played in the background and a small candle in the centre of the table gave a small glow that illuminated whatever the fiery light touched.

There were small lights which gave the restaurant a soft, calm and quiet atmosphere about it, and one couldn't help but talk quietly as the mood of the restaurant played with one's conscience, fooling them into believing that whatever they said could be heard by everyone if they didn't keep their voice down.

"Yeah," Lexi sighed. She slumped in posture; the light from the candle caught her eyes in a different way, causing the soft glow to make her emerald eyes sparkle, as if they were dancing in a golden fire.

Ace smiled. She looked so beautiful in the candle light, well, to him she always looked beautiful, but in the soft light; he couldn't help himself from getting lost in the sparkling jade orbs.

Lexi looked at him; his dazed look confused her, "What?" She smiled at him.

"Nothin'…well, you just look really, really nice tonight…well, not that you don't always look nice, but you do right now and…"

"Ace…" Lexi slowly removed her finger from the male rabbit's lips, which had successfully refrained him from finishing his rambling sentence, "You're staring to sound like Rev. Please don't!"

Ace smiled back, "Sorry. Anyway, do you know what you're gonna have?"

Lexi briefly looked down at the menu that was on the table in front of her, "Er, yeah. Yeah"

"Good, 'cause I t'ink there's a waiter comin' now."

--

"THE GAME IS TIED. THE GAME IS _TIED_!"

Tech rapidly folded his ears down with his hands, trying to block out the sound of the booming loud speaker. "Could this damn thing get _any_ louder?" He grumbled.

"Come-on-Tech,-It's-not-_that-_bad-think-of-the-fun-we're-having!"

"Rev, I don't actually like Basher-Whoa!"

"Move it Tech, I'm comin' through!" Duck announced as he shakily walked down the narrow isle of seats. The Coyote stood up angrily, allowing the loud mouthed waterfowl to pass.

Tech sighed as he sat back down after the water-fowl had gone, "How long until it's the end of the game, Slam?"

"ghtsk fufsojfsp jdgjl hour."

"Half-an-hour?" Rev repeated sadly, "There's-only-half-an-hour-until-the-end-of-the-game…that sucks!"

"Wow Rev, you can actually talk slowly...sometimes?" Duck laughed, it wasn't often that Rev ever talked slowly…unless he was sad.

"Duck?" Tech asked the bird puzzled, "Where did you go, you came back so fast…"

"I went to stretch my legs. Superheroes _need_ to have good working muscles and limbs. That way they're always ready for action!"

"Uh-huh?" Tech replied sarcastically, '_Ducks'_

_--_

"An eight dollar tip, wow. Thanks sir!" Replied the young waiter as he took back the plate with the bill and his tip.

"Don't mention it." Ace smiled as the man happily walked away. He then turned back to Lexi who sighed, "What?"

"Ace, I told you that I didn't want you to pay for all of it! You said we would split the cheque!"

"Well…it doesn't mean I had to _remember _dat." Ace smirked. "Come on, let's go." He held out a hand for Lexi as she stood up.

Lexi sighed, "Ace Bunny, you are a sneak!" Ace smiled as the two left the restaurant together.

--

"Thanks Ace, the dinner was great." Lexi smiled as she sat down on the couch in their headquarters. The male rabbit didn't reply, but he smiled instead, kissing the female before walking to the kitchen.

Ace opened a cupboard and pulled out a glass, "Hey Lex, you want something to drink?" He began to pour himself a glass of water.

"Er, Nah I'm not…" Lexi was interrupted by the sound of a song coming from her bedroom. "Whoops, my phone's alive. Be right back, Ace!"

"Umm...okay then?" Ace smiled.

Within moments, Lexi returned, looking at her cell phone with some interest as a small smile began to form on her face. "Oh my god!" She grinned as she looked up from the small device.

"What's wrong Lexi?" Ace asked as he came over, with his drink still in his hand.

"Nothing's wrong. My friend, Leah, from back home, she's just…she's, she's a surgeon now too!"

"'_Too'_, Lex, what do you mean?"

"Well, she's a doctor, at a hospital near to where we live…well, in Utah. She's worked so hard for a long time to be able to be a surgeon too. Apparently it's really hard to get the two jobs within the hospital because it takes a lot of skill, and time to achieve it. And she's just got it! She's wanted the job since…well, for a long time…" She 'trailed off' at the end of her speech, her voice getting softer as if she was remembering something as she spoke.

"Why the interest in being a surgeon _and _a doctor?" Ace asked. He was both intrigued, and somewhat confused.

"Umm, she has an older brother, Alex. He actually works somewhere here in Acmetropolis. Their Dad, he's in the navy…but not as an aviator like my brothers, he works in some…different field. But he works in a submarine…as a medic, so that's where they got it from. Their mum, she works in the same little shop that my mum does, they're good friends. A lot of their family are into medicine, so I guess that's partially where they got it, but it was mostly from their dad.

"Oh, Interestin'. Utah seems like it would be a nice place to go to, well, at least the town that you grew up in. Everyone seems to nice and skilful, not to mention…"

Ace was cut off from his sentence when suddenly he noticed that Lexi had turned her attention to the door, her super hearing picked up the sound of movement on the other side of the door to the Loonatics' headquarters.

Ace looked at the female with concern as she slowly stood up and began to walk to the door. "Lexi what…" He whispered, until she gestured for him to hush. He walked with her to the door, bracing themselves, the two opened the door, and slowly they looked around. No one was there. But there was a small envelope resting at the bottom of the doorway.

"What's this?" Lexi picked up the envelope; it was addressed to all of the Loonatics. She turned to Ace and showed him the envelope as they walked back into the room, "Do you think we should open it…or should we wait for the guys….we probably should wait…Y'know?"

"Yeah…" Ace replied. "Funny. It doesn't say who it's from?"

"Well…maybe the sender's name is on the letter…or whatever is inside?"

"Yeah probably. Anyway…" Ace stretched out, and yawned before picking Lexi up bridal style, "…shall we go to my room and…" He smirked at her, his voice getting warmer with every word he spoke.

"…Watch a movie?" Lexi finished.

Ace sighed, "Well I was more thinking that we could…"

"…Yeah…I know what _you _were thinking…and the brain that was doing the thinking, Ace." She smiled. "But…could we, um…not tonight please. Couldn't we just watch a movie together?"

"Yeah I guess. My room though, dat way we can avoid any suspicious comments when da guys get back. They wouldn't come into either of our rooms incase we were asleep, so dey won't be able to ask what we did…'cause you know they will."

"Yeah." Lexi sighed. "I don't see what they're so worried about. I mean, it's _our _relationship, they can't tell us what we can and can't do."

"Well, maybe they're just concerned…for you, more dan me. But still, I wouldn't like it if say…you and Tech were…like you and I are. I'd probably be behaving in the same way; dey just don't want anything bad to happen to you." Ace put Lexi back down and the two started to walk back to Ace's room together.

"Yeah…but…why? Why me, it's not like I can't take care of myself." Lexi quickly eyed Ace, "You _know _I can take care of myself right?"

Ace smirked, "Of course we do."

"Yeah, then explain why you're always so protective."

"Well…" Ace scratched the back of his neck, thinking, "…because you're a girl!" He blurted out; he immediately regretted what he said when he saw the look in Lexi's eyes.

She was mad.

"Because I'm a _what_?"

Ace flinched, "Because you're a girl...woman, umm, you know…you're female because you have…well you know…girl stuff, and you defiantly weren't born with a…"

Lexi shut her eyes in an annoyed manner, "…Yeah, yeah thank you. I know that I'm a girl. At least, the last time I checked, I was…" She took a brief glance down at her chest before looking back at him, "Yep. Still female." She smiled, before looking into space for a moment, "…Unless I'm a guy with moobs…?"

Ace smirked at her behaviour, before his amused expression turned to a confused one, "_Moobs_?"

"You know: Man boobs." Lexi smiled.

"Oh," Ace smiled, raising his eyebrows, "Wow it must've been funny to be a girl in high school."

Lexi gave him a blank stare before walking past him, "_Noooooo_." She turned back to him, "_Definitely not_."

Ace crossed his arms and walked over to her, "How so?"

Lexi turned back to him, but jumped slightly upon realising that he was as close to her as he was, the last time she saw him, he was standing a few metres away, but she spoke nonetheless. "Because, high school is that milestone where you become a woman" She spoke triumphantly, before muttering something quietly, "…well, sometimes you're one before then, but that's beside the point." She turned back to him, "_Anyway, _high school isn't fun. You practically lose your self esteem because there are always girls who _will _do whatever they can to crush your happiness. Whether it's fooling you into thinking that you're really unattractive and you're gonna live and die alone. Or they make you think that being a _bunny _means that suddenly you have no rights, so they put a snake in your locker at school and laugh when you pick it up and throw it out of the window!"

Ace looked at Lexi, startled. "Wait, people actually did dat…to _you_?"

"Yeah." Lexi sighed, and slumped in posture, before sinking to the ground by Ace's bed. "Kinda makes you wonder if they would ever be right about what they say."

"Lexi don't think that!" Ace sat down on the floor with her and pulled her into a hug. "It doesn't matter about what dey say. Dey weren't even right anyway. You've got lots of friends, you told me dat, you've got your sisters, brothers, their friends, all of da people you grew up with, your parents, us...and you've got me!" He smiled at her, "So dey were wrong with lots of things. Dey were only trying to mess with your head so that they could have their fun."

Lexi looked back up at him, "Yeah. If only you could've told me that when I was in high school. It would've helped…a lot!"

Ace smiled at her, "Dey were probably just jealous of you anyway. People who make fun of others are usually the ones who have the problem, dey just won't admit it."

"Ace, they made fun of me 'because I'm a bunny, I doubt they had anything to hide there."

"So? Dere's nothin' wrong with what you look like, or where you come from, or who you are. All dat matters is what _you _feel about yourself. T'ink about it, you're healthy, you've got a good job and you've got some great friends, you have lots of people who love you back home, you've got a successful family and a great leader who is in love with you!" He gave her a thumbs up, which made her giggle, he then continued, "I mean look at you, you've got a great figure, a beautiful smile, your eyes sparkle no matter what type of light you're in…and, you're smart, you're agile, you're a great friend and you're really wise. From what I've heard you say, you've got a lot of family and friends back home in Utah who really care about you, who miss you and who love you. And it's da same with us. Lexi, you're like the heart of the team, I don't t'ink we'd be able to go on if you weren't here. We all love you…well, not in the same way that I do…I hope, but you get along with all of us. You can get a conversation out of us all, even Duck!"

"I guess you're right…" Lexi wiped away a tear that she hadn't even realised was on her cheek.

"I know I'm right, Lex." Ace placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her. "And don't let anyone ever tell you that there's something wrong with you. Because, the way I see it, you're perfect.

* * *


	20. The Hotel Thingamajig

**I'm, once again, very sorry for the long delay!**

**But, this chapter is very long, and is hopefully worth the wait!**

**Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter, tis very interesting….especially towards the end…**

**

* * *

**

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Lexi yawned and stretched out as she entered the kitchen area where the rest of the team were seated, she had just taken a shower, but was obviously the last one to have done so; it somewhat annoyed her, but she stepped into the room nonetheless.

The team all gave her the usual 'good morning' that they always did, but as usual, they continued either eating their breakfasts, or preparing it.

Ace walked up to the female bunny, kissed her on the cheek, before whispering to her, "Where'd you go this morning, I couldn't find you?"

Lexi smiled and rolled her eyes. "You're so paranoid. I went to take a shower, it…kinda would explain the wet hair." Lexi pointed to her dripping blond hair, and then to the blue town that she held in her left hand.

Ace smirked, "I guess it would." He walked back over to the bench to collect the toast that had just finished cooking, a loud bell chimed, informing him that it was still in need of being collected from the futuristic toaster.

Lexi gave her hair a quick rub with the towel, to get rid of any excess water, before sitting down at the table with the rest of the team.

Tech, who was sat next to the female rabbit, looked at her with a concerned expression on his face, "Lexi, are you okay...you look…annoyed?"

Lexi smiled at him, "I'm fine. My hair's just bugging me, I swear the moment I stop thinking about it it'll frizz up, and _then_ it will have my undivided attention until I sort it out. Seriously, I think it's just an attention seeker."

Tech smirked at her, "Sure. That's not crazy at all…"

"Thank you Tech, really. Did that Basherball game mess with your head or something?" Lexi too spoke sarcastically to the other; she took the morning newspaper from the coyote's hands so that he would have some incentive to answer.

"Probably." He replied as he took a sip from his glass of orange juice, finding this an adequate answer, Lexi gave him his newspaper and stood up, smiling. Tech watched Lexi as she got up to make her own breakfast; she slowly walked to the fridge and retrieved the carton of cranberry juice. Turning around, she got a glass out of a cupboard and poured the red liquid into it, the actions didn't go unnoticed by Duck.

"Cramps again, Lex?" He smirked, "has it been a month already?"

Lexi froze, and glared at him. "Yeah, thanks Duck." She replied sarcastically, "Way to make a person feel uncomfortable..." She turned back to her glass and took a sip from it, cringing as the vile tasting liquid stung her taste buds.

"Keep your comments to yourself, Duck." Ace glared at the water fowl, sending him a warning.

Rev eyed all of the commotion, "Oh-boy." He frowned as he spoke quietly to himself, until an envelope that was resting on one of the benches caught his attention and he hastily ran over to read who it was for. "Hey-what's-this, -or-who-is-it-for?" Rev held up the white envelope in the air, the rest of the Loonatics turned to look.

Ace stood up and walked over to the bird, "Oh, dat. It came last night. It's for all of us."

"ghdjd dfhkdfjl sfhsj it?" Slam grumbled, before picking up a large stack of pancakes and consuming them.

"Yeah…" Duck looked from the Tasmanian devil, to the bunny, "Well, open it then."

Ace scowled at the waterfowl. He then turned his attention to the small white envelope in his hands; he walked over to the table with the others and sat down next to Lexi's vacant seat, before she sat down too.

Carefully, as to not damage whatever was inside, Ace opened the small envelope, inside was a rectangular disc. It wasn't very large; it looked to only be roughly fifteen centimetres in length, seven in width and maybe less than two centimetres in height. It had a small bluish screen on the front, which lit up as soon as Ace had a proper hold on the item.

Neat writing started to form on the holographic screen, as a French accented man spoke the words that were writing themselves on the screen:

_

Dear Loonatics,

I, Pierre Le Pew, invite you to a formal dinner at my new mega structure, situated in the centre quadrant of the city.

Quality French cuisines will be served, as well as a selection on drinks, quality entertainment, and a chance to explore and enjoy the new five-star resort.

I would be delighted if you could attend this 'get together' as you might call it, it would also present you with a chance to meet others of Acmetropolis' elite as well as offer you a memorable evening out.

The address of the resort is enclosed on the back of the envelope, from which this invitation came, and I must ask that you bring this when you arrive; as this acts as your ticket to enter the building.

Please dress formally and I hope to see you tonight.

Yours sincerely,

Pierre Le Pew

_

"Pierre Le Pew?" Duck spoke for all of the team when he said this, "You mean the creepy, sleazy French dude who tricked me and Slam into entering that illegal fighting arena, which almost made us lose Slam?!"

"Yes Duck." Ace replied monotonly.

"Hey. I remember seeing the commercial for that place!" Lexi announced.

"You do?" Ace looked at her quizzically, "When?"

"That time you guys went out for dinner and I stayed home, remember?"

Ace nodded his head in confirmation.

"Our names were on the guest list of the advert." She looked around and suddenly felt awkward. "…I... just thought… that it would be... Interesting…. to point out..." She grinned sheepishly, "…So, what do we do?" Lexi asked, as she looked around the group of males, searching for an answer to her query.

"I don't know. This…_thing _is tonight. Are we gonna go, chief?" Tech asked, through examining the messaging device. '_Fascinating'_ he mused.

"I…I'm not sure." Ace replied, "I mean, dat guy is a total creep. He tricked Slam and Duck, almost getting Slam killed, and he threw _you_ off a balcony like…a week ago." Ace turned to Lexi as he said this.

"Wait, -he-threw-you-off-a-balcony?-when-did-that-happen?"

"When Ace and I went out for dinner…you know, that time…" Lexi replied to the red fast-talking bird.

"Well…it might be cool to go y'know. Free French food, drinks and a free chance to see the cool hotel...thingy." Duck considered. "I mean, how often do we get invited to this kind of thing? I mean, we save the world like…all of the time, and this is like the first time that they've ever let us go to some big prestigious event?"

"I guess…" Ace thought out-loud, "But what it it's a trap?"

"It seems like he'd be spending a lot of time and money on a trap to catch a bunch of superheroes, Ace."

"Lexi?!" Ace looked at the female next to him, in surprise, "Are you saying that we should go?"

"No...Well, I'm not sure; I mean….I don't know." She sighed.

"Well…I guess it couldn't hurt?" Ace rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "But we _do _need to interrogate those guys from yesterday down at the subterranean prison. Dat's our first priority, if it runs overtime; we still have to do our job."

"Fine." Duck sighed. "Let's get it over with already."

--

"VISITORS APPROACHING. KEEP YOUR HANDS AND FEET AWAY FROM YOUR CONTIANMENT FIELD"

The booming voice of a prison officer over a loud speaker addressed all of the criminals as the Loonatics descended to the ground floor of the Acmetropolis Subterranean prison in an elevator.

They were now on the ground floor.

The floor above the contained the more dangerous criminals, the likes of Mallory Mastermind, Massive, Sypher and Weathervane were all contained in 'prison bubbles' which were able to withstand their special and unique abilities and prevent them from escaping.

The ground floor was where dangerous criminals were kept which needed interrogating by the Loonatics.

The Loonatics all moved quickly on the moving platform, which transported them across from the elevator shaft, to the prison cells. What they were 'levitating' over, was a massive ditch, used to deter villains who try to escape and enter the elevators, the only means of escape. The moving platform brought them more and more closer to the men who had tried to kill them all on the day before; it gave some shudders to see their faces again. But they did their best to keep their composure and remain calm in front of the men.

Both Ace and Tech had their arms crossed over their chests when they approached the cell that the group of men were being held in, while Rev, Slam and Duck had their arms at their sides.

All of the five males wore stern expressions, though some were annoyed to even be there, or were somewhat scared, or who were just angry about what had happened to them – and to their team.

Lexi's stance was more rigid. She had experienced a more personal…_encounter_… from the criminals' leader, Tom. And she didn't like the thought of having to see him again. She felt uncomfortable when the others had asked her what he had done to her when they had left the mayor's office at the end of the attack yesterday. Luckily Ace was there to explain it instead of her, he even spoke to them about it in private, rather than when Lexi was there and would feel awkward around the group of males after they had known what Tom had done to her…and what he had tried to do.

She stood silently, trying to hide the fear in her eyes. She mentally decided that she would let the guys do the talking, and if any of the attackers said anything to her, she would ignore the comment. Ace and the others would sort them out anyway. The guys knew that she felt uncomfortable, and they had even offered that she stay behind, but she had declined, not wanting Tom and the others to think she was scared…even though she was.

"Oh look, if it isn't the Loonatics again." Tom spat out, crossing his arms in a disgusted manner, "I hope you're all okay after everything that happened yesterday…they were just following orders." Tom pointed to the men who accompanied him in the cell.

"Oh don't worry," Duck pointed up at them, "We were too, which is exactly why you are, where you are. All. Locked. Up."

Tom smirked, but he didn't respond to the water fowl's comment. He couldn't think of what to say, instead he looked at all of the Loonatics, eyeing their facial expressions, trying to pick out who was scared, who was vulnerable. His eyes finally landed on Lexi.

"So, I hope I didn't scare you too much yesterday '_hun'_, I know you didn't want me to do what I did." He smirked at her before sending her a wink.

Lexi furrowed her eyebrows, then, embarrassed; she crossed her arms and turned away from everyone.

Ace looked from Lexi, to the men in the cells, glaring at them. "Leave her alone; don't you t'ink you've done enough?"

"Yeah sure, like we're really gonna listen to you, Bunny." Another man spat out in a gruff voice.

Ace glared at him, "Anyway gang, "He turned back to the rest of the team, "we've got a job to do." He turned back to Tom in his cell, "We'll speak to Tom first." He sent the man a cocky grin while a guard handcuffed the man, and two brought the man out of his cell.

The men held onto Tom's arms securely, making sure that he couldn't get away, while they hauled him into a room with the Loonatics in tow.

One of the men tapped loudly on the cell wall, attracting the attention of Lexi who was the last of the group to walk to the room, she turned around to see what he wanted, still annoyed and uncomfortable after what Tom said earlier.

"Hey," One of the men whispered, "If you get us out of here, we can make it worth your while..."

Lexi gasped, but glared at them, before turning around, but she jumped when she saw Tech standing behind her, "Tech, what are you..?"

The coyote put a hand on her shoulder and sent a glare at the men before turning both himself and Lexi around, and walking towards the interrogation room, "Were they bothering you, Lex?"

Lexi hesitated before replying, "No. No they weren't….and I'm fine." She answered his query, predicting that he would ask if she was okay.

Tech sent her a disbelieving look, but decided not to say anything, he heard the shouts and mutterings of the men behind them, '_Pigs' _he thought sourly.

The two walked in silence from that point, when they reached the interrogation room, the two guards who had brought Tom and the Loonatics to the room were standing outside, making sure no unauthorised people went in, ensuring that all was well with the men in their cells, and close enough to the interrogation room in case the Loonatics needed help if Tom suddenly got out of hand.

When the guards saw Tech and Lexi approaching, they opened the door for the duo, and they quietly entered.

Inside, was a dark room with a single table in the middle, Ace and the rest of the Loonatics, minus Tech and Lexi who now stood by the door. Tom sat in a seat where Slam and Rev stood close by, in case he got violent or tried to escape. Ace and Duck stood on the other side of the table to Tom, parallel to Tech and Lexi.

The Loonatic leader glanced at the coyote and female bunny, before turning back to Tom, "So, why did you break into da mayor's office. You appeared to be searching through a lot of files…what were you looking for?"

"Details." Tom muttered.

Tech eyed the man suspiciously, "What _details?"_

Tom looked up at him, "Just information that we needed."

Ace was getting frustrated, "What information…why did you need it. You obviously went to a lot of trouble to get to it. So what were you trying to do…find codes to banks? Locate mines…what?"

Tom scowled, "We needed the rest of our gang to do _that _kind of thing."

"So….what?" Duck asked quizzically, "You were trying to bust your friends out of jail?"

Tom smirked, but quickly hid his small gesture. But the action didn't go unnoticed by the Loonatics.

Ace smiled triumphantly, "You know Duck, I t'ink dat you actually got it." He turned back to Tom, "Was he right?"

Tom rolled his eyes, "Okay…yes! But wouldn't you do the same?" He leaned forward in his chair, addressing Ace, "Wouldn't you go out of your way to help _your _friends if they were in trouble…kinda like how you help her." He pointed to Lexi. "It seems like the two of you seem to be more than just team mates. If you know what I mean." He raised an eyebrow.

Ace glanced at Lexi, and then glared at Tom. "Dat's none of your business."

"Hmm, sounds like I've got you there." He leant back in his chair in a relaxed fashion.

Ace grit his teeth, "Yeah, well you're looking somewhat smug for someone whose gonna be locked up for a _long_ time. Let's go Loonatics."

Sending the man glares moved, The Loonatics left the interrogation room, Leaving Tom to sit in silence. Soon to be brought out by two of the guards, and was put back in his cell.

--

"Well, I guess that now that we're home we should get ready to go to that Pierre hotel...thingamajig!" Duck announced as he walked over to the sofa, after they had returned from the Acmetropolis subterranean prison.

"Yeah, yeah Duck, we know!" Ace sighed as he too sat down.

While the rest of the male Loonatics sat down, Lexi slowly walked over to the couch, musing about something, she stood with her hands on her hips.

Ace noticed the female's behaviour, "What's wrong, Lex?"

"I was just thinking….about the thing. I mean…" She sat down next to Ace, "…do you guys even…like…_have _anything formal that you'd be able to wear to this hotel dinner thing?"

"Yeah, Lex." Tech smiled, "We'd be panicking otherwise."

Lexi smiled back, "Wait….does formal mean 'wear a dress'?" She looked around the room to someone with an answer.

"Umm, I'm thinking….yes...well, not for us…I hope…" Duck gave her a quizzical look, "Why?"

Lexi slouched, Ace put an arm around her, "I don't know, I just don't really like to wear dresses unless I like…_want to." _

"I thought that you wore one when you and Ace had that date?" Duck raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

Both Lexi and Ace blushed, and shifted uncomfortably, they weren't exactly expecting the water fowl to be reminding them of _that _evening. "Well...yeah, but…you know, going back to the whole…thing I said like..." She checked her watch, "like…twelve seconds ago. You know, that's when I said: 'I'll only wear one unless I want to' does that ring a bell, Duck?"

"Hey, I thought I was the only one who was allowed to be sarcastic around here." He pouted.

"And-that-just-looks…-_really_-weird,-Duck." Rev giggled.

"Yeah," Ace smiled. "Anyway, should we get ready."

--

Lexi sighed, looking at herself in the mirror. What she saw…she didn't really like. She had on a black, strapless dress that had a wide pink waistband which highlighted her narrow middle. The dress reached the floor and the dark shade of the fabric brought out her slim figure. '_Pierre's gonna love this.' _She thought sarcastically, thinking of the sleazy creep who had tried to flirt with her when he had first seen her_. _She blew a stray hair out of her eyes, the torso part of her dress moving down slightly, she sighed, reaching behind her with her arm, she couldn't reach the zipper. '_Damn it'_

Quietly Lexi looked outside of her door, making sure that no one would see her, she quickly slipped out of her room and knocked quietly on Ace's door.

Naturally, the grey rabbit let her in, greeting her with a smile and a kiss, "Hey Lexi…" Lexi looked at the grey bunny, seeing what he was wearing. He had on a Black pair of smart trousers, with shiny black shoes, a white shirt, a yellow bow tie and a black jacket with a yellow strip of ribbon that lined the bottom on the sleeves. His bow tie was still undone as he took in her appearance. Lexi smiled up at him, before walking past him.

"So, I'm guessing all of the guys have their signature colour on their suits…like you?"

"Yeah, I t'ink so. I'm not sure; I haven't seen any of dem yet." Ace replied. He walked back into his main room where Lexi was, as he began to tie his bow tie.

"Ace, could you…can you zip me up?" She turned her back to him, indicating to him that her dress was still undone at the back.

"Oh, sure." Ace stepped forwards and pulled up the zipper. He wrapped his arms around her small waist, resting his forehead on the back of her neck. He then turned her around so that she could face him. He looked her up and down before smiling at her, keeping his arms around her waist as he pulled her against him. "Hey, you look nice."

Lexi gave him a look of disbelief, "You think?"

"Yeah." He was smiling as he kissed her.

Lexi pulled away and chuckled, "Right." She replied sarcastically. "This, is why I _hate_ dresses." She looked down at herself, obviously focusing on something that Ace hadn't noticed.

"What?" He shrugged his shoulders.

Lexi looked up at him, "Do…do...you think…that…this dress makes my hips look too wide?"

Ace smiled at her, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her towards him. "No. I think you look just beautiful."

Lexi half smiled up at him, "Really?"

Ace sighed and rolled his eyes, "Yes, now stop worrying about yourself. I told you this last night, you look great."

"Thanks Ace." She smiled, kissing him, "Anyway, we should go to the main room and wait for the guys."

"Err, yeah. Once I've done up my bow tie." Ace replied as he put his arms up behind his head.

Lexi looked at him strangely, "What are you doing?"

"Tying a bow tie, what does it look like?"

"Usually you don't put your hands behind your head though, Ace."

"Yeah…" Ace grinned sheepishly at her, "I decided to take the easy way out."

"How so?"

"It's a clip on." He showed her the two clips at the end, looking much like the 'hook and eye' clips that you find on bras. "Even though it's supposed to be easier to 'tie', it still doesn't make it…"

Lexi smiled at his actions, "Come here…" Ace did as he was told, Lexi's next actions took him by surprise, she swiftly moved her hands behind his neck, and simply did up the bow tie without even having to look. "There you go, done." She grinned.

Ace smiled, "But how did you..? Never mind….T'anks." He took her by the waist and kissed her, before leading her out of his room. Lexi stopped suddenly. "What is it, Lex?"

Lexi smiled back at him, "I just need to get my jacket…and bag. I'll be right back."

"Oh, okay den. I'll be out here." Ace watched Lexi disappear into her room, her door automatically closing behind her. He sighed and waited.

"What are you doing?" Came a voice from behind the rabbit, Ace turned around and was met with the sight of Duck, wearing a suit similar to his own, but with an orange strip of fabric lining the ends of the sleeves as well as an orange bow tie around his neck; rather than yellow.

"Just waiting for Lex." The grey rabbit relied, simply.

"Uh…huh?" Duck muttered suspiciously, as he passed the bunny and walked into the main room, tripping down the steps as he did so.

Ace couldn't help but snicker as he watched the water fowl tumble down the small set of steps, and land in a heap on the floor.

Duck shook his head before standing up, and facing the rabbit, "You're despicable."

Ace smirked when the mallard walked away, but with a slight limp. Ace turned back to face Lexi's door, just as she opened it to leave her room, turning off a light as she left.

"So, are you okay now?" He asked, taking her hand. She was now wearing a small pink jacket that matched the waistband on her dress, with a smaller bag which hung off of her shoulder, and tucked itself between her torso and her arm.

"Yep. I'm good." She smiled; she gave him a quick kiss before he led her out of the corridor, and into the main room, where the rest of the team stood waiting.

"Wow-Lexi-you-look-really-nice!" Rev commented as he ran up to the two bunnies, like Ace and Duck, he too had on a suit where the bow tie and sleeve ends were red, his signature colour. The same with Tech and Slam.

Lexi half smiled at his comment, and the ones that came from the rest of the team who all smiled at her, including Ace. "Umm, Thanks…guys."

Rev put his hand on her shoulder, smiling, "Aww-Lexi,-don't-look-so-embarrassed!" He turned back to the rest of the team, "Anyway-we-should-go."

Lexi smiled back at him, "Yeah. The cab's here….or whatever we're using to get to the place."

"How'd you know that?" Duck asked her quizzically.

Lexi rolled her eyes and pointed to her ears, "Super hearing, remember?"

"Oh yeah..!"

--

Surprised at the vehicle that was sent for them by Pierre Le Pew, the Loonatics stood outside of the shiny black limousine, awe struck, they hadn't expected _that_.

Soon, after becoming impatient, the Limousine driver, who had been standing by an open door to the car, waiting for them to get in, cleared his throat. "Umm, would you…like to get in, so that we can leave?"

Blinking away his thoughts, Duck was the first to move, "Oh yeah! So this is what the life of luxury is like!" He said triumphantly as he stepped inside.

Ace was the next to enter the vehicle, followed by Lexi, Tech, Rev, and finally; Slam. Once they had their seatbelts fastened, the driver shut the door, and returned to his own seat, where he began to drive.

"This is…_cool_." Tech smiled. He was impressed, which was how the rest of the team felt. He grinned, "I've never been in a limo before."

The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Obviously before becoming superheroes, none of tem had really been in any position where they had been driven in such a vehicle.

"What about you Ace, Isn't your dad like…famous?" Lexi asked, resting a hand on the grey bunny's knee.

"Okay….yeah, I have been in a limo…a few times. But dat was when I was really little…before I went to live with my uncle."

"Oh."

--

"Bonjour…monsier…Ace, Tech, Rev, Slam…and…Duck" Pierre shook hands with the five male Loonatics when they entered the massive building. They all stopped, waiting for Lexi.

"Ahh!" The French man said happily, "And Mademoiselle Lexi." He kissed her hand, "You look….how you say….beautiful tonight." He smiled at the female bunny.

Lexi smiled back at him, after she had walked back to the main group and was out of sight of Pierre Le Pew, her smile turned into a look of mock disgust, "Aww man!" She wiped her hand on her dress, "Now I have to sanitise my hand!"

Ace smirked at her before putting his arm around her waist. The Loonatics were lead to a circular table, with a white table cloth on it. The layout on their table was the same as those of the others in the grand hall. There was a candle at the centre of the table, a large selection of cutlery at everyone's place, neatly folded napkins in the space where their plate would soon be, and each place had a crystal wine glass to the right of ones' seating place, there was also a small glass where ice cold water was, water that had obviously been poured from the crystal jug that was placed by the candle.

"Wow!" Duck commented, looking around the massive hall, "I guess he wasn't kidding when he said 'Grand Opening', this place is huge!"

The mallard was correct. The room was predominately marble finished. The beautiful and expensive stone was everywhere. The floor, the walls and even on the ceiling, crystal chandeliers hung from various points on the ceiling, the light shimmering and sparkling in the tiny glass beads. Also, in various positions around the hall, there were palms, planted in sandy brown pots.

There was a stage at the front of the room, with a podium that was completely dwarfed by the size of the room, there was a bar area towards the left of the stage, where waiters in smart waistcoats and bow ties, white shirts and long black trousers…similar to the attires of most of the men in the room, minus the jackets. Waiters also served drinks to the tables, as well as taking early orders of food.

Ace pulled out a chair for Lexi as she was about to sit down, luckily the female rabbit noticed that it had moved before she sat down on it. "There you go Lex." He smiled.

Lexi sighed and sat down, waiting for the grey bunny to take his place next to her on her left, when he did, she turned to face him. "Ace, you know you didn't have to do that."

"I know." He smiled, "But I wanted to"

Lexi rolled her eyes and took a sip of water; Tech took up a seat to her right, he sat next to Slam, who was next to Rev, whose seat faced away from the stage. On the roadrunner's right was Duck, and to _his_ right was Ace.

"Well-isn't-this-nice,-this-is-a-great-way-for-us-to-have-some-fun-as-a-team,-it's-_great_! –And-have-you-seen-how-fancy-this-place-is-it's-amazing,-who-would've-thought-that-_we_-would-ever-get-invited-ot-this-kind-of-thing. Well...actually,-I-don't-know-who-would-of-thought-that-we-would-be-invited-to-this-kind-of-thing,-so-don't-mention-any-names, 'cause-otherwise-we-might-be-here-forever-y'know? I-mean,-think-about-how-annoying-it-would-be-if-someone-kept-saying-names. They-would-just-be-_talking_-and-_talking_-and-_talking_-and-_talking_-and-_talking_…"

Rev was interrupted when Duck clamped his beak shut, "Rev…" he said sweetly, "Do _you _know what it's like to have someone continually talk?" His tone turned sour towards the end of his sentence.

Rev shook his head.

"Wow." Duck replied, amazed. Truthfully, the mallard would have come out with a sarcastic comment, saying how the bird should look in a mirror, or record himself speaking, or actually _listen_ to _himself_ for once, just so he could know what it was like for the rest of the team…and the world. But the Duck was interrupted from his predicted telling off of the bird when a waiter came to the table, asking what everyone's choice of drink was.

The waiter first turned to Lexi, who simply shook her head slowly as she spoke, "Umm, I'll be fine with just water, thank you."

The waiter looked puzzled, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

The waiter reluctantly turned to Ace, who gave the waiter his order. The waiter continued to receive the male Loonatics' choice of beverage. When he had finally taken Slam's order (After the rest of the team had to translate the Tasmanian devil's estranged speech) the waiter turned back to Lexi.

"So you're defiantly okay, you…haven't changed your mind?"

Lexi smiled, "No. Water's good for me." She sighed when the waiter left. "You would have thought that he would've taken that hint already."

Ace looked alarmed and eyed her suspiciously, "What hint?"

Lexi rolled her eyes and smiled at him, "You know….the one where I said that I just wanted water…and nothing else."

"Oh." He replied. "I…I knew that."

"Of, course you did, Ace."

Lexi briefly looked around, before beginning to stand up, "I'm just gonna…you know, go to the ladies room."

"Why?"

Lexi gave Duck an annoyed look, "Yes, because I'm really gonna tell you guys _that_ one, Duck." She replied sarcastically.

--

Moments later the female bunny returned, she took her place at the table and sat down. Just as she did, the lights dimmed in the room, and a spot light shone on Pierre Le Pew who stood at the podium on stage.

His white suit shone perfectly in the light, almost making him look like a beacon. He cleared his throat before speaking, "Ladies and Gentlemen, " He started, "I, Pierre Le Pew, am glad to see how many people have turned up at my….how you say, get together. I trust that everyone is having a good time, And that some of you may even consider staying here, or recommending it to ay visiting friends or relatives."

He sent a friendly wink to the audience. Some people gave a chuckle at his actions. Pierre seemed to shuffle some papers around on his podium, obviously notes for his speech. He cleared his throat again to hush the audience once more.

"Now, I would like to take these few moments to speak to you about this magnificent building, its structure, its short history…even some, funny moments that have arisen when building and planning it." He continued after a brief pause, "Obviously Acmetropolis' elite, would find this interesting….well, at least I hope you do. Otherwise I've prepared this…how you say….stupidly long speech for nothing!" He chuckled.

Once again, members of the audience laughed or at least chuckled at his 'little jokes', The Loonatics however, weren't exactly finding the man funny; especially after their own experiences with him.

Lexi, out of the six of the Loonatics, was probably the most detached; she hardly listened to a word of what the man said. Yes she had super hearing, so it wasn't as if she couldn't hear him, in fact the annoying 'buzzing' of his voice while she thought was beginning to annoy her.

'_Why hasn't it come yet?' _she mused to herself, '_surely it would've by now?' _

She continued to contemplate various thoughts that she found in her head, suddenly getting lost in her own world. She failed to remember where she even was, as a sudden dizziness made her vision somewhat dazed, and made her stomach feel strange.

'_What the…?' _She thought, putting a hand on her stomach, as if it would calm it. She took a sip of water, suddenly feeling warm and uncomfortable. Not wanting to raise any alarms to the guys, she merely sat and continued to act as though she was listening….and as if she had been listening the entire time. But it didn't help, she still felt strange, and she couldn't stop herself from musing over more things, instead of listening to Pierre like she should have been.

Suddenly, Lexi was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Pierre Le Pew speak, picking up a certain sentence, "I would like to ask the Loonatics, one of our most valued guests here tonight, to come to the front and please, share your thoughts on my new building."

Hesitantly, as the audience began to clap for them, the rest of the team pulled out their seats and stood up; Lexi looked around worriedly before doing the same.

Duck whispered to Ace frantically, and if Lexi hadn't been as close to him as she was, she would have never heard what he had said, "Ace, I have no idea what skunk boy's been saying for the last twenty minutes, what am I supposed to do?"

Ace rolled his eyes, "Listen next time, maybe?"

Lexi jumped, '_Twenty minutes. He's been talking about this place for that long?'_

Ace continued with what he had been saying to Duck, "Just stay quiet, the rest of us will do the talking, 'cause we were actually listening," Ace turned to Lexi, "Right Lex?"

Lexi nodded quickly, "Er, Yep…" '_Oh crap! I can't speak in front of this many people…especially when I have no idea what I'm supposed to be saying…and why do I feel so freakin' sick suddenly. Wait, Ace…'_

The Loonatics walked up the set of steps to reach the stage, Lexi quickly whispered to Ace, "Ace…I can't speak in front of this many people, please don't…"

But the male rabbit wasn't exactly listening. Pierre Le Pew has already gestured for the rabbit to stand at the podium and speak, and luckily the grey rabbit did so, quite professionally as well.

Lexi realised she had missed her chance. Now if he asked her to say something to the large audience, she'd be screwed. She turned to look at Tech. He looked confident; obviously he had been listening too.

Sensing that he was being stared at, the coyote turned to Lexi, she looked worried, but suddenly put a hand to her stomach…but it was lower down than her a_ctual _stomach. More the abdominal area, Tech noted. "Lex, Lexi what's wrong?" Suddenly he noticed how dazed she did look, and if it were possible with her tan fur, she looked pale.

Ace, hearing the commotion behind him, turned around, just in time to see Lexi fall forwards onto Tech, who instinctively put his arms around her to support her, but her body fell limp, her legs seemed to almost give way underneath her and suddenly she fell. Tech hadn't exactly wanted to hold onto her too tightly, fearing that he would injure the bunny, so she easily slipped out of his hold, luckily Rev was fast enough to catch her a lower her to the floor gently before she could do herself damage. But now it seemed as though that was inevitable anyway…

Ace abandoned the podium. His friend's safety was more important to him than embarrassment or his reputation. He and Tech sank down to their knees, while Slam, Rev and Duck simply surveyed the scene from where they were standing, still as worried as the two on the floor.

Some people in the audience gasped, some stood up to get a better look, causing more people to do so. There was even a flash of a camera.

Pierre Le Pew immediately ran to the podium to calm the crowed, and to make sure that no one tried to interfere. He turned back to the Loonatics, putting a hand over the microphone so that none of the audience could hear his or their voices. "What is the matter with her?"

Tech shook his head, "I'm not sure…" He furrowed his eyebrows, putting two fingers to Lexi's neck to check for a pulse. "Well…she's not…she's…she's still _alive_. She just looks…unconscious or something." Tech looked up to see Ace's face, the male rabbit looked worried.

"She mentioned somethin' about not being able to talk in front of a lot of people earlier…do you t'ink that it could be stage fright?"

Tech sighed, "Maybe, Ace. But Lexi's strong. Even if she had gotton stage fright, I could never imagine her to just faint like that. Somehow I don't think it is…"

"Well…" Ace looked down at Lexi, "We should get her back to HQ, and she feels warm, too warm. We need to go."

"Yeah..." Tech agreed, feeling Lexi's arm, she was too warm, "Slam." He looked up at the Tasmanian devil. "Take her please."

Tech knew fully well that any members of the team were fully capable of carrying her. She was the lightest in the team, and was very light weight anyway, but he figured that with Slam carrying her, there was a lesser chance of her getting hurt. That _and_ the rest of the Loonatics would be able to stand in front of the Tasmanian devil to hide Lexi from the press. The media would have a field day seeing Lexi in that state.

After explaining that to Ace and the others, The Loonatics, minus Lexi, stood up. "Er, sorry about that folks…but, Lexi seems to be feeling a little under the weather. We should probably go, to make sure she's okay."

Strangely, there was applause from the audience, as the Loonatics left the stage; Pierre opened a fire escape door, which made it easier for the Loonatics to leave. The French man followed them out, making sure that there was some form of transport available for the team to allow them to get home, earlier than expected.

"Will she be…how you say…okay?" Pierre asked, looking down at the female rabbit.

"Possibly..." Ace replied, suddenly feeling angry. He gripped Pierre by his shirt and hauled him towards him, "What did you do to her?"

"Ace!" Tech put a hand on Ace's shoulder, "It wasn't his fault…"

"Yeah?" Ace replied, still gripping onto Pierre, "How can you be so sure?"

"Do you really think after everything that he's done for us tonight, that he really would have tried to do something to Lex?" Duck asked, trying to allow Ace to see the logical side of things…which was strange for the Duck to do…but even stranger for Ace _not_ to do.

Ace sighed, "Maybe…."

Rev stepped forward beside Tech and Duck, the three of them seemed to be making sure Ace didn't do anything that he would later regret, "Ace,-come-on,-do-you-really-think-that-Lexi-would-want-you-to-be-acting-like-this. Come-on; let's-just-get-home-so-that-we-can-see-what's-wrong-with-her."

Ace looked from the red avian, to Pierre, "Fine." He dropped the French man, Pierre stumbled before collecting himself, "But if we find out that you've done anything to her, we'll be back." He pointed menacingly at him.

Tech half smiled at Pierre as they climbed into the limousine that Pierre had summoned to take them home. They all watched as the man waved them off, and straitened out his suit, before hastily walking back inside.

* * *


	21. In Sickness, And In Health

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Ace with Lexi in his arms, followed by the rest of the team; entered Lexi's room quietly. They had returned home from the incident at the hotel quickly, and had done their best to try and work out what was wrong with Lexi while they were travelling home; but they still weren't sure why their friend had suddenly collapsed on stage.

Rev turned on the lights, illuminating the room, they were all worried about their friend, and Ace was probably the most concerned. He had been unusually..._uneasy_ about her, not that the others weren't, and Ace had a valid reason to be, but still; Rev, once again, found himself feeling incredibly suspicious over the bunny couple, and he wondered if anyone else did too...

Ace laid Lexi down in her hammock and pulled up her blanket so that it covered her. "What d'you t'ink is wrong with her Tech?" Ace asked, concerned as he watched Lexi sleep, she looked so peaceful, and he wished he knew that she really was, but his gut feeling told him that there was something definitely wrong with her, and he highly doubted that it would be merely stage fright.

Tech pursed his lips together as he thought, before verbalising his opinion, "I don't know, but she had a high temperature back there…"

"…Not to mention the whole, collapsing thing." Duck finished, sourly. As much as he would hate to admit it, the water fowl was too worried abut Lexi, but naturally he was also annoyed that they had to leave the hotel without getting to enjoy the night like they had planned, and hoped to. But he decided not to mention this. Even if he seemed self centred and as if he didn't think before he spoke, he still had the right mind to know when it would be safe for him to comment about a situation, and considering how worried they were about the female, it would be detrimental to the mallard's health if he were to complain.

Tech glared a Duck before turning back to Ace. "We'll just have to see how she goes overnight." He looked down at Lexi, and seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Maybe one of us should…" The coyote didn't finish what he was saying, as he and the team turned their attention to the female rabbit of the team.

Lexi moaned and shifted as she awoke, groaning in obvious discomfort as she did so. She slowly opened her eyes, before putting a hand to her head and sitting up. She groaned again and lay back in her hammock, obviously not realising the presence of the other Loonatics in her room.

"Lexi?" Ace asked cautiously as he walked over to her, "How are you feeling?" He sat next to her, sitting up; Lexi noticed the rest of the team staring at her intently, as if knowing that there was something wrong with her, something that the female rabbit didn't even know about…or remember at this point in time.

She looked around, giving the males in her room a brief smile before groaning again. That was something that the team loved about her, no matter how bad she felt, Lexi was always able to be somewhat cheerful or even crack a small smile even in the worst of conditions. She rubbed her head in thought, "That depends…what happened?"

"Well…you got bad stage fright and you collapsed in front of everyone!" Duck announced smugly, though there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Tech and Rev sent him glares as he spoke, but the arrogant water fowl took no notice. He spoke with his eyes shut anyway.

Lexi's eyes widened after he spoke, "I did _what_?" She turned to face Ace, her eyes frantically searching his pitiful expression, worried that what Duck said was true. "Ace, please tell me I didn't?"

Ace rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably, "Well yeah…you…kinda…did..." He winced as he spoke, not entirely sure how she would react.

Tech decided to speak, "Yeah…we first assumed that it was stage fright…but I'm not sure _what _it could be…had you felt okay before you…fainted?"

Lexi thought for a moment. Her musings led to how she had felt minutes before they were summoned to the podium, how she had suddenly felt queasy, warm and dizzy. "Umm…while Pierre was talking about the hotel…I felt ill…but it was really sudden. I had felt fine and then suddenly, I just felt really dizzy, warm and sick. To be honest…I was kinda…focusing on _that…_ rather than actually listening to what… he was… saying..." He voice quietened as she spoke, she felt shameful that she didn't listen to what was being said by Pierre, and he _had_ invited them to come along anyway.

Tech thought for a moment, resting a hand on his chin, "Define 'Sudden'."

Lexi looked at him, confused, "What do you mean..?"

Before Tech could expand on what he was saying, Rev spoke first, "Define-means: The-act-of-defining-or-making-definite,-distinct,-or-clear. The-formal-statement-of-the-meaning-or-significance-of-a-word-or-phrase,-etc. The-condition-of-something-being-definite,-distinct-or-clearly-outlined. Also,-in-terms-of-optics: Sharpness-of-the-image-that-is-formed-by-an-optical-system. And-in-terms-of-radio-and-television; the-accuracy-of sound-or-picture-reproduction. Words-associated-with-define-are: Ascertain-assign-characterise-construe-decide-delineate-denominate-denote-describe-designate-detail-determine-dub-elucidate-entitle-etch-exemplify-explain-expound-formalize-illustrate-interpret-label-name-prescribe-represent-specify-tag-and-translate. Also-antonyms-of-define-are:-confuse-distort-tangle-and-twist." He smiled.

"Umm, yeah, Rev," Lexi smiled at the bird, "I know what define _means_. Not that I didn't take any of that information into account, which I did, but…what I meant was…what does Tech mean when he said 'define _sudden'_ as in…_how should I_ define it…in terms of time…y'know?"

"Oh." Rev grinned sheepishly at the group.

Tech turned back to Lexi after a moment of hesitation, "What I mean is, how suddenly, did you feel sick?"

"Umm…it kinda just happened. I mean, I was thinking…" She looked around, "About…_something_…and then I had, what felt like, a wave of dizziness come over me, and then I felt really warm and sick."

"Hmm…strange…" Tech mused out loud. "Did you feel hungry or thirsty?"

"No…not hungry...or thirsty, actually…I took a couple of sips of water just in case…but it didn't help. If anything it made my stomach feel worse, like I wouldn't be able to keep anything down.

"Lexi," Ace started, putting a hand on her shoulder, "When you told me dat you didn't want to talk in front of everyone…was it because you just didn't want to…or 'cause you felt sick?"

"Actually…it was a little bit of…both." She sighed, "This sucks…" She put a hand to her forehead, feeling how warm she was. But obviously, the self temperature check wasn't accurate considering she was placing her own hand to her forehead…she would either need a thermometer or someone else if she wanted to know how warm she _actually_ was. Her voice got quieter as she spoke, obvious signs or fatigue and deteriorating health, she also felt light headed and dizzy. Where had the strange sensations suddenly come from?

"Well, as I was about to say earlier," Tech announced, looking at Lexi, "One of us should stay in here, just to make sure that you're okay overnight."

Lexi looked around the room…not exactly wanting someone (other than Ace) to be in the same room as her while she slept. Especially if that person watched her sleep, that always put her on edge…but still, she didn't feel comfortable with any of the other guys sleeping in the same room as her…especially alone…without it being Ace, or without Ace simply being there with her. Though she trusted her team mates…her friends – The whole concept of _that _would be just plain _weird_.

She slowly shook her head before speaking, "Don't worry about it guys, I'll be fine…I think…" Lexi sounded unsure, before growing slightly pale, or at least feeling as if she had, not that it would really be possible with her tan coloured fur covering her skin. She suddenly felt extremely nauseous, as if her whole stomach was about to erupt.

She wasn't sure that she felt comfortable with having to run from her position, her hammock, all the way to her bathroom at the other side of the room, especially with the other males in the room, the very sense of them being in her bedroom put her on slight edge. Sure she knew that they would never try to do anything to her…but it still made her feel uneasy. Also, with the potential of tripping over her own feet and embarrassing herself, as well as spilling the contents of her stomach onto her floor daunted her too. Not to mention having to run in a dress, it would be too constricting, and she'd end up running like a bow-legged chicken, that would be very embarrassing, and the very thought of her attire suddenly dawned on her. Abruptly, she didn't feel comfortable with what she was wearing…at least with this many males in her room…

But her rapid musings were interrupted by another lurch that she felt in her stomach, this one more violent than the first, she knew that it was coming…"Be right back!" She announced as she ran to her bathroom.

To her relief, she didn't fall over as she ran…she wasn't even sure that she cared about all of the thoughts that had plagued her mind moments ago.

The males left in the room flinched when they heard her vomit, and hoped there was nothing seriously wrong with her.

The thought of one of their team mates being unwell was never a positive one for the team, but the thought of Lexi, one of their most caring members…if not, their _most_ caring member, being sick when they had no idea what was wrong with her made them feel very uneasy and suddenly, very useless, when they considered how little…if anything at all, that they knew about her strange condition.

Knowing that she would be the most comfortable with him, Ace knew that he would have to volunteer to stay with her for the night. But, given the suspicious behaviour of their team mates over the past week, they would probably think the worst, and not grant him his offer. But alas, he decided to try anyway. "I'll stay with her." He said calmly, hoping to sound innocent.

To his surprise, the rest of the team acknowledged this, Slam nodding his head before departing, leaving the room but turning to his left…heading for the kitchen. Duck looked the male rabbit up and down, as if trying to find any evidence that he wasn't just being concerned about his friend's well being, but, trusting his leader, he too left…but turned to the right as he left Lexi's quarters, towards his own room.

Rev and Tech, Ace figured, would be the most apprehensive to leave Ace alone with Lexi for the night, the two of them had been so…paranoid about Ace's behaviour around the female bunny. They didn't like the thought of him being alone with her just as much as he didn't want them to be alone with her either.

"Guys look, not'in's gonna happen. Lexi's my friend. Do you really think I'd do anything to hurt her or make her upset?"

"Do-you-really-think-_we_-would?" Rev sounded almost hurt when he spoke, before he left the room. He didn't like how Ace never trusted them with Lexi; he was acting so…_territorial_ suddenly, as if he had some bond with her all of a sudden. But the thought made the bird ponder something, but he shook of the thought and prepared himself for bed.

Tech felt somewhat obliged to question Ace further, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to sound too stern, instead he'd act as though _he _would be better off to stay, just to examine how keen Ace was to stay with Lexi…for the coyote feared that leaving the two alone…especially in Lexi's weakened state, could lead to heart break and anger, amongst both them…and the team. "Are you sure, I'm more used to having late nights in the lab, I'll stay with her if you want." He offered, what he did say was true anyway.

"Nah." Ace smiled. "I'm her boyfriend, I should be da gentleman." He smirked.

Okay, so Ace _did _sound innocent, and truthful. And he was right too, if Tech had been in the same position as Ace, he would have done the same thing. '_So maybe I shouldn't be thinking all of this, he's just as concerned as we are, and he's trying to help.' _Tech thought, he returned the smirk that Ace had made earlier before departing.

Ace felt slightly strange. For a week they had been hiding the fact that they had been sharing a bed, yet when Ace offered to stay with Lexi that night, the others had left…_suspiciously…_but Ace had originally thought that it would have taken a lot more to get them to trust him. Ace pondered the possibilities for a few moments, until he was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of more vomiting coming from the bathroom.

Ace ran in, and saw Lexi sitting on the floor by the toilet, obviously looking very unwell. "Aww, Lexi." Ace said concerned, as he came over to sit beside her. He put his hand on her back to try and comfort her, before reaching up to flush the toilet.

"I'm sorry, Ace." Lexi said, quite slowly, she felt embarrassed that he had to see her in the state that she was in.

"Hey, there's nothing for you to be sorry for." Ace rubbed her back. He got up to find a flannel, and wet it, before handing it to Lexi. "Here." He said "try and just…clean your mouth out a bit if it tastes funny." He put on a guilty smile.

While Lexi was sorting out her mouth, Ace started to question what might be making her so sick. "Do you t'ink it could've been da drinks?"

"No." Lexi said, she seemed tired "I only had water, remember."

"Hmmm," Ace thought. "I'll be right back." He said, getting up and leaving the bathroom, taking some towels with him. Lexi looked at him, confused as he left, before resuming with her vomiting.

Ace winced, with every sound that came from the bathroom, and wondered whether he should've stayed in there, or whether it just would've made her feel uncomfortable. He started to place towels on one half of Lexi's pillow, and the same on the top half of her hammock. He also put some towels on the floor, again, on the same side. When he was done, he got up, checked for sounds incase Lexi needed help, before leaving her bedroom and making his way to the lab where he knew Tech would be.

--

Inside, he found Tech working at his desk. Tech always left the lab door unlocked when he worked at night, incase for some reason he needed to leave quickly, or if one of his team mates called for help. Tech turned in his chair when he heard Ace coming. The coyote was back in his uniform, while Ace was still wearing what he was at the restaurant, minus the jacket. His bow tie was loose, almost to the point where it looked as though it would fall off, and the top buttons of his shirt were undone, while his shirt was untucked in places too.

"Is she okay?" Tech asked jumping up at the thought that Ace may've come in because there was something urgently wrong with Lexi.

"Well, as far as I know, she's stopped emptying her stomach." Ace leant back against the desk, before pushing away from the bench again. "I actually came to see if you had a spare bucket."

"A bucket?" Tech asked confused. "…yeah, sure." He walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a fairly big, green, plastic bucket, and handed it to Ace. "What for?"

"Well, I doubt she'd like waking up and running to the toilet all night." Ace replied. Tech nodded in confirmation. "I figured I could put it on da floor by her hammock."

"Good idea." Tech looked concerned. "Let's just hope she gets better by the morning…"

"Yeah" Ace replied grimly, "I hope it's nothing serious."

"…Well I was actually researching what it might have been, you know, if there were any sicknesses going round. It can't have been anything she ate or drank."

"Yeah, I thought of dat too." Ace replied he stared off into space as if he was trying to think, Tech did the same.

"…Maybe I should check in a gynaecology book." Tech thought out load.

"Yeah, good call." Ace replied, he hadn't even considered that it could be a _woman problem_, but he hoped that it wasn't. Otherwise Lexi would in no doubt feel uncomfortable and embarrassed, but it would also make it harder for the guys to relate to what was wrong with her…well, actually. It would be impossible for them to relate to her in such a situation. "Well, I should probably get back to Lex now." He said as he started for the lab door.

"Yeah, I'll keep a look out." Tech replied as he walked over to a book case and searched for the correct book, he jumped, dropping the book he had just retrieved when the lab door shut.

Annoyed, the scientist bent down to pick up the book, slowly walking over to his desk chair as he began to look through the book, trying to find information on the symptoms than Lexi had been experiencing…

--

Ace came into Lexi's room, and put the bucket on the towels he had arranged on the floor earlier. He went into the bathroom next, to check on Lexi. The female rabbit was still in the same position that she was in when Ace had first come in to check on her, her eye lids were drooping and she was slouching, obviously tired, it had already gone 11:00pm.

"You okay Lex?" Ace asked, he began to walk over to her and assist her.

"…yeah." Lexi said shakily. "I haven't thrown up since you were gone, so for now, I think I'm okay."

"Well, don't speak too soon." Ace said grimly as he helped her up, he flushed the toilet again, before picking up a new flannel, wetting it, and putting it on her fore head.

Lexi looked confused when he put the cold, wet fabric against her. "What's this for?"

"Well, you were burnin' up earlier; I don't want you to get too hot tonight." Ace replied as he led her out of the bathroom.

He had already turned on Lexi's bedside lamp earlier, after turning off the main light in her bedroom, so that he could see when he was arranging the towels. Ace let Lexi sit down on her hammock, while he went to get her pyjamas from her cupboard. "Are you okay with getting into these?" Ace asked as he held up her pyjamas. They consisted of long green pants and a pink vest top, obviously summer wear.

"Umm…I don't know." Lexi bit her lip, and gestured her head to the bucket, which, for now, was empty.

"I'll help you, so you don't upset your stomach as much." Ace offered as he put her pyjamas on her hammock. Lexi stood up, as Ace moved behind her, not blocking the way of the bucket just in case. He undid the pink waistband, and unzipped the back of her dress for her. Lexi let the dress drop around her ankles before stepping out of it and putting on her pyjama pants after Ace had handed them to her.

Although, due to what had transpired almost a week ago between the two of them, and Ace had indeed already _seen _Lexi. He felt that under the circumstances of her being unwell, he would turn away to let her finish getting ready for bed, so as to not make her feel uncomfortable.

He could sense that she looked at him when he turned away, obviously wondering why, but not in the mood to ask questions, the female bunny continued changing, only looking up at Ace once, when she heard him move towards the door.

He left the room momentarily to get into his own pyjamas and to brush his teeth. When he was finished, he knocked on Lexi's door, and upon hearing that he had permission to enter, he opened the door and came in. He shut the door behind him and walked over to the side of the hammock that didn't have any towels on it, before climbing in, and putting some of the covers over himself. He smiled weakly at Lexi, who looked terrible, before putting his arm around her, gesturing her to come closer to him, and reaching over her to turn off her bedside lamp.

Ace moved closer to the side with the bucket, consequently having to push Lexi a bit, which wasn't difficult, but slightly awkward. She had already drifted off to sleep, practically when her head had hit the pillow, but in her sleep she managed to somehow, scoot over towards Ace, and rest her head on his chest.

Ace smiled, and put an arm around her, while his other arm supported his head in a relaxed fashion, feeling her warm, mint breathe on him. He stayed awake for a few minutes, still trying to work out what could be wrong with her, before putting is hand on her fore head again, and checking her temperature. She still felt quite warm, so Ace kicked off the blankets so they were at the end of the hammock, easy enough to reach if need be, but not covering Lexi, and making her temperature worse.

He lay back, remembering the last time he had spent a night with his female companion, and remembering all of the events that had led them up to the point that they were at now. He only noticed now, the soft light that shone in from the windows, he hadn't closed the curtains. He never liked to sleep with them open, it made him feel as though anyone could just look in and see what he was doing, which made him feel uncomfortable.

Carefully, he slid out of the hammock, steadying it with his hands after he had gotten out of it, making sure that the rocking of it didn't wake up the sleeping bunny.

Once satisfied, he turned around, pulled down the blinds, and walked back. At least now there was total darkness which made it easier to sleep. He lay awake for some time, hoping that she would be okay, wishing that whatever _was _wrong with her wasn't serious or life threatening. Remembering her current condition, Ace rolled over, facing Lexi as she slept, and her soft blond hair covering half of her face as gravity pulled it down and onto the hammock. He smiled at her, even when she was sick she still looked beautiful asleep. But, recalling the temperature she had, Ace couldn't help but frown.

He sighed with frustration when he checked her forehead again after about twenty minutes - she still felt too warm, and Ace was contemplating whether he should inform Tech or not.

For the time being though, he decided to do what his initiative told him to, he didn't want to worry Tech any more than what was wrong with Lexi already had. Ace carefully moved into a sitting position, making sure Lexi didn't wake up with the movement. He slowly and carefully pulled her pyjama pants off, leaving her legs bare, and hopefully able to keep her cooled down…for now. Ace folded them up and placed them on her bedside cabinet, once again having to lean over her, before returning to his earlier placement.

Again, he waited, for about the same length of time as before, roughly twenty minutes, before checking her temperature with his hand again. She had cooled down slightly, but still her temperature seemed higher than normal.

'_Well I'm not taking any more of her clothes off if da other's know we're in da same room tonight' _He thought as he decided what he would do now.

He took a last glance down at Lexi, before, again, moving her carefully and leaving the room. For the second time that night he went to the lab, Tech was the most professional when it came to medicine, in the team, surely he would know how to treat a fever, better than what Ace had resorted to.

"Hey Tech" He called as he came into the room. Tech was sitting in the same place as earlier, reading up on a book, some form of Gynaecology book, Ace assumed, remembering what the two had spoken of earlier.

"Yeah?" Tech asked as he looked up from the book.

"Yeah, it's Lex" Ace noticed Tech stiffen, as if he was scared...which he probably was.

"Wha…what about her?"

"I t'ink Lexi's got a fever" Ace held back a smile when he noticed Tech visibly calm down, obviously the coyote had feared the worst, but the news was still somewhat worrying to the scientist.

Tech looked concerned and got up, walking across the room; he pulled a Thermometer out of a drawer, and walked back to Ace. "You _think_?"

"Yeah…" Ace rubbed the back of his neck. "I felt her forehead, and she seemed warmer than usual." He and Tech started for the lab door, and began their walk to Lexi's room.

"What did you do to help?" Tech asked, eyeing Ace intently.

"Well…" Ace started as he and Tech entered Lexi's room, they walked over to the hammock, Tech eyeing Lexi before turning back to Ace, slight fury in his eyes.

"…You took her pants off?" Tech raised an eyebrow.

Ace glared a Tech. "She needed to cool off!"

"Yeah, what _else _did you do to her?" Tech returned the glare.

"Not'in'!" Ace held his hands up in defence. "What else was I supposed to do? She was asleep and she was burnin' up. It's not like I took off her shirt as well!"

Tech scowled, "You're lucky you didn't decide to take her underwear off too..." He gently shook Lexi's shoulder. "Lex…Lexi?" Tech called quietly. Moments later Lexi's eyes opened, she jumped when she saw Tech and Ace staring down at her, and kicked out in defence, gutting Tech with her foot accidentally.

"Whoa!" Ace couldn't help but jump himself, he ran around to Lexi's bedside lamp to turn on the light, while Lexi tried to apologise to Tech.

"My god Tech, I'm so sorry, you guys scared me!" Lexi put a hand on Tech's shoulder as she sat up.

"Don't worry, Lex." Tech gasped. "I understand… I'm sure I would've done something… _similar_." He winced as he stood up, clutching his stomach slightly, Lexi bit her lip.

"Seriously Tech, I'm _so_ sorry I…"

"Lex, don't worry." Tech assured her, his voice returning to normal. He straightened up before picking the thermometer up off the floor and wiping it. Ace came back to Tech's side and they both now looked at Lexi.

"Why are you guys looking…_wait_?" Lexi's face screwed up slightly. "Why do I feel a sudden breeze?" She asked as she noticed her pyjama pants were gone. "Okay, _who_ did that?" She glared at Tech.

"Not me!" Tech jumped, realising her cold glare was fixed on him. When Lexi realised it must've been Ace she calmed down slightly. "Oh…right." She blushed slightly and turned away from the two. "Anyway, what's going on?" She turned back to them, once she had regained her composure.

"Ace said you had a temperature." Tech announced.

"I _t'ink_" Ace corrected him.

"Sorry, Ace said he _thinks_ you have a temperature. Do you feel warm?"

Lexi looked puzzled for a moment. "Yeah…a bit…but more cold than warm" She looked confused. "Why, what's going on?"

"Well" Tech sat down at the foot of Lexi's hammock, causing the female to shift her legs. She sat cross legged on her hammock and faced Tech, eager to know what was wrong with her. "We're not sure what exactly is wrong with you, it can't be the drinks because you only had water, and if it were food poisoning it would've taken longer for you to start vomiting, at least ten hours. So, I'm taking a look in a gynaecology book, just in case it's a…woman thing. You haven't been experiencing any abdominal pains, cramps or anything similar have you?"

Lexi shook her head. "No…" Ace shuffled uncomfortably, realising there could be something seriously wrong. "What exactly are you getting at?"

"Well…" Tech started, but stopped when someone knocked on the door to Lexi's room. The three Anthros looked at each other quizzically, before Ace and Tech got up to see who was there, bracing themselves for the unexpected.

When the door opened, it revealed Slam, Rev and Duck each sharing tired features, but concerned and slightly annoyed ones too; well at least Duck was annoyed.

"Hey, Is-something-wrong-I-heard-lot's-of-movement-outside,-is-Lexi-okay? Rev inquired as he looked over Tech's shoulder.

"Maybe, maybe not…But its not'in' dat you guys need to worry about." Ace tried to imply that they leave, but it had little effect on the worried team mates.

"Hey, she's our friend too, okay. There might be something wrong with her and you guys are just gonna not let us see her?" Duck said, surprisingly defensively.

Ace and Tech exchanged glances. Duck indeed did have a point. They decided, even without speaking, that it was only fair to let them in.

Ace and Tech returned to Lexi's side with Rev, Duck and Slam in tow. Lexi had a slight look of annoyance as the three extra and un-needed guests appeared, but shrugged it off nonetheless, they were only concerned after all.

"So what's wrong with her?" Duck asked as he pulled up a chair.

"I was just getting to that before you knocked." Tech sounded slightly annoyed, but resumed with his previous task, and sat back where he was earlier. "Anyway, I just wanted to know if you had been experiencing any types of pain that you're not used to, just in case it's an early sign of…cancer or some form of _female_ related illness."

"Whoa, what!?" Ace sounded alarmed as he moved to Lexi's side after Tech had explained this, Rev, Slam and Duck also seemed to share the same look of horror on their faces.

"No, no pains." Lexi assured them. "…well, except him." Lexi gestured to Duck.

"Hey!"

"…Are you sure?" Tech looked unconvinced.

"Yes!" Lexi replied, slightly angrily. "I'm fine, and I'm sure that I'll still be okay in the morning." She sighed, realising that her outburst had caught the rest of the team off guard. "Sorry, I'm tired. Could you guys just…you know…leave, it's getting a little bit crowded in here and I kind of feel uncomfortable since I'm currently pants -less." She glared at Ace.

"Wait, you are?" Duck seemed to perk up slightly.

"Oh, go fly a kite." Lexi threw a pillow at him to make he promptly leave. Rev and Slam headed for the door, but stopped when they realised that Duck wasn't following.

"sfhsj?" Slam asked expectantly.

"Yeah, I'm comin'." Duck scowled as he left the room, along with Rev and Slam. The door shut behind them with a small click, indicating that it had locked automatically. Lexi, Tech and Ace resumed with their previous discussion.

"So, you t'ink it could be cancerous?" Ace asked with concern as he put his arm around Lexi.

"Well, No." Usually there's some swelling and pain if it's cancerous, so I don't think we have to worry about that, luckily." Tech seemed to let out a sigh, along with Ace. "Anyway, I should at least check your temperature just in case." Tech took the thermometer and held it in front of Lexi.

"Yeah, Fine." She grumbled, as she put it in her mouth, and held firmly under her tongue. There was an awkward pause as they waited for the time to pass. Soon, a small high-pitched beep sounded, coming from the thermometer, indicating it could be removed. Lexi took it from her mouth and passed it to Tech, who immediately checked the reading.

"…So, what could it be?" Lexi asked, she turned her head back and fourth, waiting for one of them to answer her query.

"To be honest, I don't know. But for now, you seem to be a bit brighter, so maybe you _will_ be fine tomorrow." Tech answered, he seemed somewhat cheery.

"Yeah, well…if that's not good news I don't now what is!" Lexi smiled.

"Yeah, dat's good." Ace smiled at Lexi.

"Yeah, I might go to sleep now, I feel a bit dizzy." Lexi seemed to hold her head. Tech and Ace both exchanged concerned and worried glances.

"Yeah, maybe you _should_ get some sleep. We all should." Ace said warily. "Well, we'll see you in the mornin' Tech."

Tech and Ace both stood up, Ace mainly to see Tech out. "Yeah, maybe I should still che…"

"No." Ace interrupted Tech. "You don't need to _check_ on _anything_…_currently_…Just get some rest for once, Tech, you're always in dat lab, it'll be the death of you one day." He smiled.

"Nah, I use it right - Rev, _possibly_." Tech smirked before leaving the room, but still walked to his lab.

Ace re-entered the room shaking his head. "Seriously, that coyote is gonna…" Ace stopped talking when he realised Lexi was asleep. He hastily went over to his side of the hammock and climbed in, placing an arm around Lexi as she slept. He sat up, realising that her bedside light was on, and leant over her to turn it off, submerging the two in darkness, except from the small gap in the curtains that emitted a silver moonlit glow into the room.

Ace sighed as he drifted off to sleep, wondering what was wrong with his girlfriend. Worried thoughts entered his mind as, puzzled, he fell asleep.

But sleeping obviously wasn't part of the deal for Ace.

He continually woke up, panting and sweating only minutes after he had tried to sleep. He had a bad dream, a dream where there was something wrong with Lexi, and she couldn't recover from the illness.

It was terminal.

The dream woke him up with tears running down his cheeks, and he had to look down at Lexi, watching and listening to her, waiting for her to breathe. Having that confirmation, he knew that the horrible thought was just a dream and it wasn't real.

It reminded him of when he had had the bad dreams when they were camping after Lexi had told him abut something terrible that had happened to her in the past. He had woken up scared and upset, as well as angry, and would have to constantly check that Lexi was okay.

He woke up four times _that_ night, and he now this was the second time he was interrupted from his slumber by a nightmare _tonight_. It was already well into the early hours of the next day, and he wondered how much sleep he would be able to have before he would just have to get up.

He sighed and lay back in the hammock, the slight movement caused it to rock from side to side, the movement was relaxing to the male rabbit, but after a while he remembered that Lexi was sick, and he didn't want the motion to upset her stomach, so he had to extend one of his legs to the floor to stop the hammock from moving.

Annoyed, he attempted to sleep again, trying to think of happier dreams that he would be able to stay asleep for, during the entire night, rather than wake up after becoming too scared.

It failed…that time.

He had tried to remember their camping trip…all of the fun parts of it anyway…but that only caused him to remember Duck almost drowning in the lake. The bunny had dreamt of diving in after the waterfowl, and having the two of them becoming stuck in the water, barely being able to keep their head's above water, and losing energy fast.

Then, Lexi tried to save them. Ace wasn't sure where the others were in the dream; they didn't seem to be present. But all he knew was how he had called out to Lexi to swim back before it was too late, but she had refused.

She was stubborn in that respect. Always too determined to help her friends.

He had done his best to keep both his and Duck's head above the water to make sure they got enough oxygen to keep them alive, but he saw Lexi struggling to do the same. About a metre away from the rabbit himself, Lexi began to drown. He stretched his arm out, screaming her name and trying to pull her towards him, but he failed. And she sank beneath the surface of the water.

Then he woke up

Ace had a lump in his throat, doing his best to hold back the tears, but the dream was so vivid, as if it had actually happened. He wasn't sure what became of him and Duck…he woke up the moment Lexi's head and ears disappeared. The Bunny wouldn't really care what had happened to him after knowing what had happened to Lexi…but it did leave him to wonder what could've happened to Duck if he had stayed asleep long enough for the dream to continue.

But Ace did his best to forget all remnants of the dream, closing his eyes and taking a breath, he tried to sleep again, recalling the day at the lake…where the water was safe.

But he woke up again.

That attempted dream only reminded him of what had almost happened to Lexi, and what she had told him about what had happened to her in Utah, before becoming a Loonatic.

And like what had actually happened when they were camping, Ace woke up…

…Again…

Groaning, he lay back roughly, rubbing his eyes with his hands, as if the massaging action would help him sleep. But he couldn't think of how he was ever going to get to sleep and allow his body to rest.

'_This is gonna be a loooong night.'_

* * *


	22. Love, Lust And Misplaced Faith

**Well, the chapter is finally done!**

**Once again, there _will _be a delay before the next one is published, with homework and all of that annoying stuff being at the top of my priority list...**

**If anyone is interested, the following chapter (expecially the end of it) I wrote whilst listening to music, which inspired most of what is written towards the end. It turns out, for me anyway, that music _really_ helps the writer to write according to the mood of the music that he/she is listening to, and I found that _that_ has helped me to write this chapter.**

**The songs that inspired me so much, are actually songs that were featured in the film 'Twilight'. The Songs are easy to find on ** youtube(dot)com **I recommend listening to the two songs when reading the chapter.**

**'Phasination Phase' - Twilight: The Score (The instrumental music from the film)**

**'Let Me Sign' - Robert Pattinson (The actor who play s'Edward Cullen', in 'Twilight')**

**I found that 'Let Me Sign' was mainly the song that gave me the inspiration, but 'Phasination Phase' is still quite a...I'm not sure how to describe it...powerful/emotional piece. **

**This chapter does come with a warning, however. As some people may find the ending of the chapter somewhat...inappropriate....but personally I really like it, but y'know....**

**Anyway, I think that is all I have to say...On with the story!**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Ace awoke feeling as though he wouldn't get back to sleep even if he tried. He got up, and left the room, taking a glance at Lexi before he left, she looked so peaceful, her eyes shut in slumber, and her chest rising and falling with every breath; the warmth she gave him when they slept. He had hardly felt her move all night, so at least she wasn't vomiting any more, to Ace's relief.

He entered his room; there was no need to make the bed this morning. Strangely, it felt weird for the rabbit. After being so used to his own bed, and then suddenly not sleeping in it. But, he figured that's how Lexi must've felt when she started sleeping in his bed, rather than her hammock. He retrieved his uniform and took a shower before getting dressed and going to leave his room, naturally, opening the curtains in his room before he left.

The new light that entered his room calmed him. And he could almost feel the room warming up already; the summer heat relaxed him, even in the morning – the coldest part of the day. He sighed happily, today was going to be great, that was, if Lexi was okay and they didn't have and missions…but somehow it seemed unlikely.

Not that the bunny was being pessimistic, but somehow, with his luck, he knew that today wouldn't be a good one. He knew that even if Lexi was okay, what was to say that she would be okay again tomorrow? What was wrong with her?

Is it life threatening?

Ace sighed, this time in melancholy. He didn't want to think that Lexi, his girlfriend. The one person he loved more than life itself was sick, and they didn't know what was wrong with her. It saddened him, but the sadness only seemed to turn itself into frustration, and the frustration would turned into determination. Determination to make Lexi better again, but thinking of that only made him sad again.

It was an annoying cycle for the rabbit. And he decided to do his best to keep his head up, and think positive. He couldn't afford to have his mind plagued with doubt, that cycle would most likely make him depressed, and then he wouldn't be able to think straight…and logically.

He needed to be happy.

Leaving his room, Ace decided to check up on Tech, and see if he had any news about Lexi's condition. But instead of finding him in his Lab, Tech was seated in the kitchen with an annoyed look on his face as he stirred his coffee with a small silver tea spoon.

"Hey Tech, umm…are you okay?" Ace asked, through some hesitation; he was concerned that Tech seemed oddly sour. Usually if he had had a late night in his lab he was just tired in the morning until he had some coffee to wake him up, after which he'd be back to his normal self. But something seemed different; and going on the amount of coffee that was still in his cup, he had already drunk some - '_so why would he be in such a foul mood?' _Ace thought to himself as he sat down opposite to the Coyote.

"…Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." Tech seemed to snap out of his 'trance-like' state and he now looked down at his coffee and sighed. "I still don't now what's wrong with Lex. And I'm worried about her. Something serious could be wrong with her and I'm at my wit's end. I've never really felt this way before, I mean, not being able to work out what's wrong with a machine or an experiment is one thing, but a living, breathing person who's life could be at stake - who happens to be one of our closest friends…it...it's scaring me." Tech sighed.

"Hey, don't worry Tech." Ace tried to comfort him, or whether it was himself too Ace wasn't sure, but he continued anyway. "Lexi's asleep, and she hasn't vomited since last night, plus I t'ink her temperature has gone down… a little bit." Now Ace was the one who sighed in frustration. "I know how you feel, but at least you're doing somet'in' to work out what's wrong with her. I'm just hoping dat she'll be okay, and dat's not really gonna make any improvements to her condition." Ace looked down at the floor for a moment, before turning back to Tech. "She's my best friend and my girlfriend - of course I'd do anything to help her, and I just want her to be okay." Ace's voice broke as he said the last of his 'speech'.

"I'll do everything I can." Tech sounded determined.

There was an awkward pause between the two males as they say sat, each staring off into space, deeply submerged in their own thoughts. The two simultaneously sighed, before a reddish blur whizzed past their table and headed to the cupboard. "Morning Rev." The two greeted the bird glumly.

Rev looked puzzled and set the blender and the fruit he was carrying down on the bench by the cupboard and stood aloof at the end of the table, his stance was rigid. He felt uncomfortable, but he couldn't quite place why that was - maybe it was the fact that he felt very concerned for Lexi last night and hardly slept at all. All he had wanted to do was to go into her room and hold her - she was like a mother figure to him, even though she was younger than him, (Only by a month or so) he still felt comfortable around her. And knowing that there was something wrong with her just made him feel depressed. He had never really considered how she affected all of them. Ace and Tech both looked terrible, and probably weren't in the best of moods. Rev became tense, and slightly annoyed. "Look guys, umm…so is…Lexi...still…sick?" He flinched as he said the last word. '_Sick'_ just made him feel sick himself.

It wasn't often that any of the Loonatics were sick, they were all perfectly healthy - no one really seemed to think that superheroes could get sick because they were supposed to be able to defend themselves against threats that could potentially make them history. The Loonatics did get the flu once, but there seemed to be an epidemic around Acmetropolis at the time and so many civilians were so absorbed in making themselves and their loved ones better; that no one really thought about what Acmetropolis' heroes would be doing.

But no, they were just as much under the weather as everyone else. No-one wanted to do anything. Rev smiled to himself as he remembered how they had all been sitting in the main room feeling like hell, and Lexi was the only one doing anything. He remembered how even when Ace had told her to just sit down and stop trying to make them feel better, she still carried on – trying to make them feel better, even though she was just as sick as they were.

Rev didn't dare chuckle out loud, Ace and Tech would probably strangle him, but Rev recalled what Lexi had answered with; in response to Ace _"I'm sorry Ace, I can't. For some reason I have this over-powering urge to make sure you guys are okay, and I'm sick of sitting around and doing nothing, and I can't bare to see you guys like that." _

That was one of the many things Rev loved about Lexi. She had such an over-powering maternal instinct to nurture them, even though they were all older than her, and the guys are more than capable of looking after themselves. So maybe that was why they all seemed glum, and maybe that's why Rev thought of her as more of a mother figure.

Rev sat down with the two of them. He had never really considered who he thought the 'father figure' of the team was. He knew it was most likely Ace. Probably because he was the leader, and had to look after them; their safety, health, that _and_ he was the one in charge. He was the one who would sort out conflicts and would be the one to make them smile and laugh and joke, like one big happy family. '_How incongruous,' _Rev thought. '_Lexi and Ace are dating, and I think of them as the parental figures in the group.'_

Rev couldn't help but smile. He didn't care if Tech and Ace saw, and wondered why; Rev had always been more childish. It was almost as though Lexi and Ace were the Parents, Rev was the little kid that was always happy and didn't always know what was going on. Slam was like the big brother, who kept to his own but was willing to do what ever he could to help his 'family'. Tech was like the uncle, wise and strong, but still had some youthfulness in him. And lastly there was Duck. He was almost like the big ignorant brother, constantly being scolded by the ones in charge, but belittling people whenever he got the chance.

Rev sighed too and slumped in posture. He didn't feel like getting breakfast anymore, he just felt sad. He knew, and had always been the one to remind everyone else, that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But his sadness made him forget about his hunger.

Tech noticed this and tried to smile. "Don't worry Rev; she'll be fine, I'm sure it's nothing."

"You're sure _what's_ nothing?" Duck asked as he walked into the room. "You had better not be talking about Danger Du…Ahh!"Duck was interrupted as Tech threw the morning newspaper at the water fowl to make him be quiet.

It worked.

"What was _that_ for?" Duck asked grumpily, as he stared at the tired and annoyed expressions that the three were giving him. "This isn't about Lexi, still…is it?"

There wasn't an answer. This put Duck on edge. "Wha, what's wrong with her?"

"We don't know Duck." Ace sighed. He got up and got himself, Duck and Rev a mug. "Hey, Tech, Do you want a top up?" Ace asked looking back over his shoulder.

"Yeah, please." Tech passed his cup over to the side and Ace started up the coffee maker. He turned around, facing the group, and leant against the counter. "_So_… where's Slam?" He asked.

"Oh." Tech looked up from the table; he would know where he was, considering he was the first one up. "Slam went to do some grocery shopping, we forgot to shop yesterday."

"…And naturally when he went to the kitchen last night he cleared out its contents?" Duck asked, raising both of his eyebrows.

"Yep."

"Oh, I thought he might have been sleepin' in?" Ace commented. He passed over everyone's cups of coffee and took a sip from his own.

Rev sighed and turned on the TV, hoping to stop the awkward conversation that was beginning to develop. Suddenly the team's attention was diverted when the news reported that yet another giant spider was on the loose, even though Professor Zane was still locked in prison.

"Alright Loonatics, Let's Jet." Ace commanded. "Tech, contact Slam, and get him to meet us at Central Square Park, dat's where da spider is headed, and we can round it up dere." Ace started to leave the main room and head towards the corridor where the team's rooms were.

"Ace, where are you going?" Duck called, he stopped when he noticed that their leader had run in the opposite way to where they were supposed to be going.

"I…just need to do something…I'll catch up!" He called back. Ace quickly opened Lexi's bedroom door and first went to see if she was awake, but she wasn't. Ace quickly wrote her a note explaining were they were, just incase she got worried when she woke up and found that they weren't home. Just before he left the room, Ace kissed Lexi; she stirred when he did so, Ace smiled. "I love you Lex." He whispered into her ear, before leaving the room, and then their head quarters.

--

Lexi woke up later. She felt horrible, sitting up; she squinted at the light that leaked through the small gaps in her curtains.

She glanced down at her clock, 9:49am. She sighed, but a small note next to it tickled her curiosity. It was from Ace, explaining why he and the others weren't home, and that they would try to get home as soon as possible.

Lexi felt somewhat lonely after reading the letter, but a sudden queasiness that washed over her only left her with the memory that she was indeed sick and she needed to stay in bed. Lexi sighed in annoyance and lay back down, staring up at the ceiling. She tried to think of reasons why she could be sick, she didn't really consider anything last night because she was tired, but now that she had an opportunity to, she began to ponder what could be wrong - recalling all the past events of the last week.

She began to mumble a list to herself as she retraced the last week. "Le Pew's dinner, Ace and I when we were home alone, Lunch; after I had that nap on Friday, the camping trip - that's most likely what it is." Lexi thought, but continued on anyway. "…The dinner I burnt when the guys went out for dinner, Bay water from when I dived in to save Ace…?" Lexi shuddered at the thought. But then froze. "…The night before the trouble at the bridge - when Ace and I…!" Lexi sat up in fear. "Oh my god!" She gasped in fright as she kicked off the covers and ran into her bathroom, closing the door behind her.

--

"Ace!" Duck called as he saw his leader approaching, "Where the heck were you, you're missing..._this_!" He pointed to the battle that was in progress below them.

The team had used their jet packs to reach the battle, and Slam, who was in the middle of wrestling the giant spider, was using the jet's power to propel him as he forced both his weight and the jet's full energy on pressing the spider into the concrete.

Whilst Slam was doing this, Tech and Rev were doing their best to grab civilians and take them to safety, as well as moving debris so that it couldn't be used against them if the spider broke free from Slam's hold.

Ace looked down, assessing the situation and forming a plan in his head; he first turned to Duck, "Duck, you focus on gettin' da people away."

"But isn't Rev..?"

"Duck, don't ask questions, just do it!"

"Okay." Duck regained his submissive composure, "Citizens, have no fear!" he announced triumphantly.

Ace rolled his eyes, "Oh brudda..."

"Danger Duck is here!" He pointed up to the sky before 'quacking' away and beginning to round up the citizens.

Ace watched the Duck with some admiration, '_For a Duck whose arrogant, he is pretty determined to do his job. Not to mention he keeps us smiling…even if we have to moan at him occasionally..."_

"Rev!" Ace called as he flew down to the fast bird.

"Yes-Ace?"

"Grab a rope or somet'in', and run around da spider and tie it's legs up, do it quickly incase it breaks free."

"You-got-it-, Ace!" Rev saluted his leader happily as the bunny flew away to Tech, Rev's happy expression turned into a confused one, "Where-do-I-get-the-rope?" He spoke quietly to himself, before raising his voice so that Ace could hear him, "Ace!-where-do-I-get-the-rope?"

"Your Grappling hook!" Tech called out to the road runner before turning back to Ace, "For a smart bird, he can be really stupid sometimes!"

Ace smiled, but decided not to say anything in response to the coyote. Rev was already pretty sad about Lexi _and_ how Ace had been treating him lately, so the bunny had decided to be nicer to the bird. He hadn't really realised that he had been acting so…_protective_ of Lexi until last night when the bird mentioned it to him.

__

'"_Guys look, not'in's gonna happen. Lexi's my friend. Do you really think I'd do anything to hurt her or make her upset?"_

___

"_Do-you-really-think-we-would?"_

__

Those six words had hit the male rabbit like a shovel while he was asleep that night; he finally felt the bird's hurt, and realised that his actions towards both him, and Tech were shameful. So the rabbit wanted to do his best to make up for it.

"Yeah, Tech..." Ace replied monotonly. "Anyway, I need you to help Slam, use your magnetic powers to keep da spider down; we need time for Rev to tie up its legs."

"Okay, chief." Tech replied. He was about to go and assist the Tasmanian devil, when a thought crossed his mind, "Ace, what are _you_ going to do?"

"I'll be helping Duck with and of da injured, Tech. Now _go_." Ace cursed to himself after Tech had gone.

So much for being nicer to Tech and Rev…

--

Lexi took a deep breath, and sat herself down on the toilet. She sifted through the small pieces of paper that came inside the small rectangular box, trying to find the set of instructions that was written in English.

After sifting through the strips of paper, for what felt like hours, she finally found one that she could understand…okay, so it was in Spanish, she could still understand it. She knew how to speak the language.

But no, it wasn't good enough. She decided that despite her being bilingual and the fact that she was perfectly capable to understand most of the languages on the strips of paper, she wanted, no, _needed_ to find one in English. This was important; she needed to make sure she read the instructions correctly.

Eventually, she did find the set of instructions that were in English, discarding the other pieces of paper; she carefully studied the information that was written on the paper.

Satisfied that she knew what to do, she took another deep breath, picked up the white stick that was in her lap, positioned it rightly, and waited.

'_Everything's gonna be fine.' _She told herself. '_It'll be a false alarm, and everything will be okay and I would've gotton myself all worked up for nothing...'_

--

"Everything's gonna be fine…"

--

"Okay Ma'am, you'll be fine. You just need to have a check up. The doctors just need to make sure dat everythin' is okay…" Ace stood, talking to an injured woman who had a large cut running up the length of her arm. But the woman was apprehensive about being taken to the hospital to have the cut treated, not wanting to be separated from her young children, "They'll be fine. I promise." Ace assured her, "Dey can be taken up with you, and you'll be with dem." He sealed his promise with a reassuring smile.

The woman returned it and was loaded into an ambulance, where her two children followed. Ace stood up and watched them leave, waving to the boy in the ambulance who looked out of the window as he was driven away.

"So how come you're so good with people?" Duck asked sourly, massaging the newly forming bruise on his arm as the two Loonatics walked back along the street to meet up with the rest of their team.

Ace couldn't help but laugh at the mallard's question, "Duck…I approach situations calmly…not forcefully…"

Duck looked up at his leader with a scowl, "Are you saying that I didn't approach _that_ situation calmly?" He pointed behind him, causing the two to turn their heads and notice the large group of ambulance crew who were gathered around an injured woman.

"Yeah Duck…" Ace looked back at the mallard as they continued to walk, "Dat woman hit you with a high heeled _shoe_…I t'ink there's something to be said there about how you handled da situation…"

Duck crossed his arms, "Situation…umm…situ...oh forget it. There's no word that rhymes with situation…"

Ace looked at the bird, smirking, "You know Duck, I worry about you sometimes…"

Once they had returned to where Slam, Tech and Rev were, the two stopped talking as Tech came over to speak with his leader.

"Well, everything's okay here. Spider's all tied up, good plan chief."

"T'anks, Tech." Ace smiled. "Well, should we get goin', leave da authorities to sort out their big present."

"Are you sure we should just…leave it there..?" Duck asked, sceptical over whether not making sure it would be contained properly was such a good idea.

"Trust me Duck, it's not going anywhere."

--

"_Trust me."_

--

Those were the two words that Lexi had heard Ace say a lot.

But she couldn't shake off the feeling that if she told Ace what had happened to her he would be mad…the same with the others. They'd be furious with her, and she wouldn't know what to do. She wouldn't be able to speak to her parents about it; they would most likely strangle Ace and the others.

She couldn't speak to Zadavia about it, because she was back ruling her home planet, Freleng, that _and _she'd be mad and disappointed with her.

'_So what am I supposed to do?' _Lexi thought as she cried into her pillow. Sure she had only taken one test, so it wasn't necessarily accurate, but just seeing the result of it made her almost fall over when she found out.

For the last ten minutes she had been crying. Contemplating what she could do. She couldn't just get rid of it without Ace knowing, that _and _it would be beneath her. But she couldn't keep it, could she? Not without _telling _Ace and the guys…they'd notice eventually…

Suddenly she sat up, hearing the sound of the hanger doors opening. The guys had returned from their mission.

'_Oh Crap_'

She immediately jump off of her hammock, and was about to leave and act as though she was fine, when a sudden thought made her stop in her tracks.

She quickly turned around, eyeing the white stick-like item that was on her bedside table, dashing into her bathroom, and dumping it in the bin.

She quickly ran out of the wash-room, stopping when she reached her door and remembering her composure. She had to act calm and act natural when she opened her door. '_Here goes nothing'_

She opened the door and stepped out, walking the few short steps at the pace that she normally would, looking to her right, along the corridor where the other team member's rooms were, as well as spare rooms, cleaning cupboards and Tech's lab; was the hanger. That's where the rest of the team were walking from when they saw her emerge from her room.

To their surprise, she looked fine, already dressed in her uniform, after taking a shower, they assumed. She was perfectly healthy, as if nothing was wrong. Her ears were perky, her stance was relaxed and poised, and she seemed cheerful and was walking normally.

She seemed…_fine._

Ace, immediately noticing his girlfriend walk out of her room, cheered up instantly, and he immediately quickened his pace to a fast walk so that he could get to her quickly.

"Lexi!" He smiled as he embraced her, picking her up as he did so, but he was unaware of it due to how happy he was. Lexi simply rested her hands on his shoulders, while his were around her waist. She wasn't stunned by his actions in the slightest, she had been expecting him to act…_something_ like that…besides, she was happy to see him too…

…_kind of_…

The grey bunny gave his partner a kiss before speaking, "Lexi…you, you…you look...great, you…you were terrible last night…"

Lexi gave him a look of mock annoyance before answering him sarcastically, "Wow, thanks. _Every _girl wants to be told _that._"

Ace blushed, "Sorry…"

Lexi smiled at him, "oh, I was kidding…kinda, anyway….can you put me down now?"

Ace looked at her, he was momentarily confused. He hadn't even realised that he was holding her in the air. Looking down, he saw a distance, between her feet and the ground, of about a foot. "Oh, right." He smiled as he put her down, gently.

The others soon approached the bunny couple and smiled at Lexi, "Wow Lexi, you...look…wait, have you been crying?" Tech's words were joyous at first, but noticing the reddish marks underneath her eyes suddenly alerted the coyote to the fact that some form of irritable substance, salty tears, had caused her eyes to look how they did.

Ace immediately looked at her; he too noticed what Tech had done just seconds ago, even now that her fur was a light pink because of her uniform.

Realising that she hadn't removed all of the evidence of her discovery, Lexi immediately raised a hand to cover her eye (the one which wasn't being blocked by her hair) and turned away. "Umm…I, I took…a shower…" She blurted out quickly. Out of their view she shut her eyes tightly in annoyance, realising that they wouldn't believe _that_ excuse.

"But how did your eyes get red….you get shampoo in them or something?" Duck asked, as he shrugged his shoulders.

"…I...umm…yeah..."

"But I thought dat you washed your hair yesterday?" Ace asked, both he and Tech glanced at each other. They each knew that she wasn't telling the truth.

Lexi turned back around to face them, slowly backing herself against her door, "Yeah…well, I was puking last night, I didn't want anything to be in my hair…it hangs down remember..?"

"_Right_…but…" Ace started, he sound unconvinced at her answers. But his next question was interrupted by Lexi.

"Jeez guys, I don't have time for twenty questions!" She quickly lashed out at them, earning strange looks from them all. She hastily pressed a button on her door to open it, slipped through the opening doors when there was a wide enough gap for her to fit through, and quickly shut them, pressing herself against them once she was inside her room.

She panted, almost with anxiety, realising that they would most likely continue to ask her questions, wanting to know about her '_miraculous_ recovery' She slid down her door, her legs folding up against her stomach and chest, as she rested her crossed arms on them and cried.

--

"…Yeah, maybe, Tech...but why would she just lash out at us like that..?" Ace asked. He and Tech had left to talk in private, in Tech's lab after Lexi had 'disappeared' into her room.

The group, not really having any other reason to assemble together…or to be standing in the middle of the corridor, disbanded, and went to do their own thing. Tech and Ace both deciding simultaneously, without even verbalising it, that they would talk in Tech's lab.

"I don't know Ace…" Tech sighed; He sat down at his chair, while Ace leant against the bench nearby.

Ace sighed, realising that the conversation was getting nowhere. He shifted in his position awkwardly, almost praying for a conversation to start. Exhaling in an annoyed manner, as he pushed away from the bench, Ace began to walk towards the door to exit the lab, the coyote seemed to be occupying himself now anyway.

Before he left the Lab, Ace turned around to address the coyote once more, "Oh yeah, Tech…"

Tech looked up from what he was doing, looking at the rabbit, secretly wondering what he wanted _now_, "Yes, Ace?"

"I'm…sorry if I've been a bit…rough on you for the past couple of days."

Tech smiled, "Don't worry. I understand."

Ace nodded at the coyote before leaving. He began to ponder thoughts, why had Lexi been so jolly after she had obviously been crying, why did she just shout at them without explaining herself?

Ace was becoming exceedingly worried for his female companion. She was already sick, and now looked fine. But sudden mood swings, crying? Maybe this was still part of the sickness; maybe it was more physical before becoming mental?

The male bunny started to wonder if he should tell Tech…but the coyote was worried enough…Ace decided to see Lexi, and demand an explanation, as much as it would hurt both him and her. He didn't want to be so forceful with her, but if it meant her safety and happiness…and his own…he had to do what he could…

'_I just hope I'll be doing the right thing' _He thought as he walked down the corridor, '_I have to. It's for her own safety. _

_But what if it's too late? _

_What if there's something really wrong with her? _

_What if she's just stressed, but so stressed that she might leave? _

_If she was sick, or even if she left, I wouldn't be able to carry on. _

_I love her, we all do. _

_If she went…so would I…'_

_--_

'_Then what will we do?'_

_--_

'_What will I do..? I can't just keep the thing. I'm only nineteen. I can't do that, I'm too young….well I think so anyway…but it will be so hard. I've got a job that means I have to go out unexpectedly…how would I even be able to do my job if I kept it? But I would never be able to forgive myself if I got rid of it…it's not fair…'_

Lexi paced around her room. Every new thought that popped into her head that gave her some glimmer of hope, was shattered when the next one came; contradicting it.

She sighed and sat down in a chair. She looked at her watch.

12:36pm

'_Whoa, it's half twelve already?' _She thought, realising how much time she had spent worrying. '_But then again…I was asleep for a long time…' _She noticed that she hadn't even opened her curtains after she woke up, making her room dull, there were small patches of light behind her curtains, where the light was trying to penetrate.

Lexi was pulled out of her thoughts, her stomach grumbled loudly. She hadn't eaten much…at _all_. She hadn't had breakfast because she was too nervous, she hadn't had dinner at Le Pew's hotel, and the lunch that she had yesterday…was probably in a sewer somewhere by now. So she hadn't eaten since breakfast…_yesterday. _That was over _twenty four hours _ago.

Lexi sighed. She wasn't sure that she wanted to have lunch. Sure, she wanted to fill her stomach with nourishment, she hadn't eaten in such a long time anyway, but she felt intimidated. She didn't want to leave the privacy of her room where the others would most likely bombard her with questions.

And how would she be able to face Ace?

He already had his suspicions; she could tell by the way he looked at her, the way he spoke. She had analysed a lot of details about her friends. She knew their breathing patterns, their pulse rate and even how they walked; the sound that their feet made, so that she knew if one of them was approaching when she couldn't actually see them.

But she knew a lot more a bout Ace.

More of it had come with how much time she spent with him now. She knew what kinds of things made him happy, sad or angry. She knew how protective he was, but how caring he was too.

He was her best friend.

She loved him.

Lexi smiled at her thoughts, but sudden knocking on her door made her sit up. She feared that it would be him, '_Come on.' _She thought frantically as she walked to her door, '_Please don't let it be him. Anyone but…'_

Ace stood at her door, doing his best to smile and make her do the same. He knew her body stance and how she acted when she was happy. And he knew that this wasn't it, she almost looked disappointed to see him, like he was the last person on earth that she would want to be with. She only looked into his eyes for a split second, before realising who he was, and looking down.

"Can I come in?" He asked, he leant against the door frame.

Lexi still didn't make eye contact, she continued to stare at the ground, her legs were bent, her arms were crossed; they were the signs of submission and discomfort. She wasn't happy; her stance was rigid and abnormal…for her anyway. "I guess…" She replied, almost so quietly that Ace didn't understand what she said until she moved to the side to allow him to enter, the automatic doors closing behind him as he walked slowly away from them.

Ace frowned. If he hadn't known that there was something wrong with her, he did now. "Lexi…" he decided that he would try to lighten the mood. There was too much tension between them. There was no way that they would be able to have a comfortable conversation like this…

He leaned forwards and wrapped his arms around her waist, Lexi looking down at them as they encircled her, puzzled about Ace's behaviour. He pulled her against him quickly, Lexi looking up at him briefly, as she had done before, before staring down at the floor. Ace noticed that she almost looked…_scared_..?

'_But why?' _He thought looked down at her. She still refused to look at him, but she also refused to struggle against his hold. He looked at her head, his eyes sweeping back and forth, trying to see her face, but the most he could see was a tiny fragment of her eye, but even that was mostly covered by her hair as it fell down, concealing her face from him.

He wondered if she was hurt, and looked her up and down.

Nothing.

So why was she acting so…_strange_?

Ace wasn't sure about his next move. He knew that he should, and he wanted to do it. But he was afraid of what she might think of him, whether she would be frightened. It was a big gamble; some few minor actions could mean their relationship, and their friend ship.

But he was desperate.

"I love you Lexi…" he whispered as he held her. At least he wanted her to know _that_ before he made his next move, at least so that he wouldn't feel…_too_…guilty.

He hesitated, before placing a hand on her cheek, and pressing his lips against hers, pulling her upwards, so that she would face him when he pulled away. He continued to kiss her, despite the shock that he knew she was in, but he was hoping…_praying_ that was he was doing….what he was _about_ to do, would knock some sense into her.

He bent down, and moved his arm underneath her and to the back of her knees. He scooped her up into his arms, still kissing her. At least this way she couldn't kick him if she was _really _angry with him.

He carried her, doing his best not to trip over as he did so, and moved closer to her hammock. Luckily for him, Lexi hadn't really worked out where he was taking her, but he still didn't want her to get violent.

He gently set her down on her hammock, bending over to do so, so that he didn't drop her onto it. This was the first time that she noticed where she actually was, and gave a brief gasp, somewhat afraid of what he was doing…what he was about to do…

Her eyes widened in fear when he stood up to his full height and climbed up with her, but instead of sitting, or lying next to her, he hesitantly, climbed on top of her, kneeling with one knee either side of her legs. He focused his weight on his legs, not wanting to force his own weight on her. He expected that she would try her best to push him off of her out of instinct or discomfort, so he quickly held her arms against her sides with his own.

They stared at each other; Ace looking down at her, Lexi looking up at him. They were each taking in the other's expression, their face, and their eyes; they hadn't properly seen the other's face in…_hours_…

Neither moved nor spoke, as they stayed perfectly still. Only their breathing making the only sounds and their chests, rising and falling with every breath, being the only movement they made.

They barely even blinked.

They wanted to savour the sight of each other. It was as if there was some force that was preventing them from doing anything else. They couldn't look at anything else, they didn't want to.

Lexi shut her eyes, feeling them well up with tears that she tried so desperately to hide. She pursed her lips together, biting the inside of her bottom lip as she did so. The pain of it was mild, nothing compared to the pain she felt now, and the pain that she had previously felt.

Taking a breath, she finally spoke to him. "What are you doing?" Her voice trembled; both out of joy and of sadness - apprehension.

To Ace, her voice was like music to his long grey ears. He hadn't heard her _properly _speak since yesterday, probably when they were getting ready to go to the hotel.

Earlier when he had heard her, she was quiet, angry, sad, and happy – but only hiding the true sadness that she felt. Yesterday night, she was tired, disorientated, confused, embarrassed, and anxious and scared when she was sick. At Pierre's dinner, she was normal – but not happy like he wanted her to be, and then she was frantic, when she desperately tried to tell him that she couldn't speak in front of everyone. But when they had been getting ready, she was happy, she was smiling. She had kissed him, and hugged him, and helped him – just as he had done the exact same things to her.

Remembering that brought tears to Ace's eyes, but he too tried to hide them. He turned his head to the side and blinked them away before they became too difficult to conceal.

He turned his head back to face her, remembering the love that he had for her, and how much she loved him too. He smiled at her, her eyes glowing with intrigue as he looked at her. Ace's smile disappeared as he leant forwards, his stomach resting on hers as he moved. He repositioned his hands and arms, removing them from restraining her arms, and instead bending his own, his biceps bulging as his weight was pressed onto them, and, keeping them positioned either side of her, but not on her. He leant on his forearms, his chest resting on hers.

He could feel her breath against his chin, his mouth and his tongue, as his opened slightly to let her breath in. He swallowed, but it wasn't a gulp, though it _was_ at the same time. But he wasn't nervous, he was happy, but he still wanted to keep his cool. He was studying her. Working out what her expression meant, his eyes moved from left to right repeatedly, analysing everything, he wanted to absorb everything into his brain.

He finally rested his forehead on hers, still not pressing his weight onto her, their faces; their eyes, their noses, their mouths were so close, almost touching. He could feel her breathing and her heart beat, they were both fast paced - but they were also steady, so he didn't need to worry.

Lexi looked at him too, but feeling his face so close to hers, made her naturally close her eyes. She could feel her heart pumping wildly, and her breathing pick up, his closeness definitely had an effect on her. She could feel his breathing on her skin beneath her fur, and again, she felt her heart rate increase.

Ace looked down at her, he knew what she was expecting, and he rolled his head down and kissed her, their noses touching as well as their lips. The kiss was brief, delicate, it was soft and small, but, still with her eyes shut, Lexi raised her chin up and kissed him back, Ace continuing. Each time their lips pressed together it lasted longer than the previous time, gradually becoming zealous, neither wanted their lips to part, they didn't want the kiss to be interrupted.

Their breathing became louder, more audible to the other. Each with their eyes shut, savouring the moment.

It felt as if it was the first time they had been in love. It felt new, exciting…different. They felt as if they actually cared. It wasn't an action that was new to them, yet it felt like it all the same. As if some of their love for each other had died, yet it was reborn, the love was like a blazing fire, burning with intensity.

The first time they had spent a night together…_the_ night; there was no love, it was so unexpected, and they hadn't earned it, they hadn't known each other - _deeply_, they hadn't supported each other, they didn't know what it truly felt like…now they felt as if they did.

Ace felt content, blissful, inside his head. _This_ was the love that they had missed out on when they first dated. The night they had shared together wasn't out of love as much as they had previously thought, it was out of impulsiveness. They kissed and hugged, and slept in the same bed together after that night, but it was more as if they were comforting each other after what had happened between them. They were merely trying to mask their own selfish lusts with what they thought was a relationship that was perfect, there were no ups and downs between them, it was too good to be true…

Relationships had to be worked on for them to be successful. No couple that had stayed together for twenty five years or more had always been happy. The bunnies hadn't always gotton along when they first met, they hadn't always seen eye to eye, and even after what felt like a one night stand where they felt as it they were in love…they _weren't_…not truly anyway.

Ace knew that he felt affection for Lexi, even when they were…_dating, _it wasn't as if he never loved her at all, the same with Lexi; of course she loved Ace. But this was different; it felt truer, more right, as if _this_ was the right moment for the two of them.

Ace finally understood. _This _was what real love felt like. This was _them_, standing by each other, and still being able to work everything out after a problem had occurred…

…A mistake…

He still continued to kiss the female bunny underneath him, there lip lock was becoming more and more passionate with each passing second; his thoughts were washed away as he remembered what was happening. Moments ago, while he was thinking Lexi had wrapped her arms around him, her hands massaging his back, Ace had enjoyed it, he liked the sensation, it was relaxing, it felt pleasant...

…But he had thought nothing of it.

He felt himself start to get lost in the moment. But not in a way he wanted. He could feel his rational thinking beginning to cease and his instincts beginning to kick in. He couldn't let it happen, not again. He didn't want there to be something between them again, something that didn't feel like anything special afterwards. He didn't want her to feel hurt again. He didn't want their '_relationship'_ to be built around lust and impulsiveness. He didn't want her to feel alienated, like she had earlier…

…He didn't want to lose her…

Before anything got out of hand, he had to act. '_Be a man_' he told himself.

Suddenly he pulled away, and sat up, rapidly withdrawing himself away from her; he got off of her in movements that felt as fast as how Rev would be able to move. He sat opposite to her, panting, waiting for his breathing to slow down.

Lexi looked at him, confused. She sat up, trying to collect herself too, "…I'm sorry…" Her breaths were heavy, as she too attempted to catch her breath. She looked at him, unsure of how to act; she wasn't even sure why he moved so suddenly.

Slowly, Ace shook his head. "No." He said as he looked her in the eyes, "I can't let myself do that to you again." He stared off to his right as he continued to, very slowly; shake his head in both thought, and shame.

Lexi looked away too, wondering what he meant.

"Lexi, I can't let this happen to us." He almost sounded angry but hurt at the same time as he spoke. Lexi turned her head to look at him, completely puzzled about his behaviour.

"What…Ace, what are you talking about?" She asked him sternly.

He shook his head again. "I know, Lexi. I know what happened to you, why you were sick." He stared at her intently.

Lexi froze and stared back at him, barely being able to voice her question through her astonishment, "No…no you…you…you _don't_ know..!" She felt herself become angry. Angry that he was lying about working out what was wrong.

She was angry with herself that she allowed him to so easily reach past her walls; her mental barriers that she hoped would stop him from realising the truth.

But it didn't work.

The walls had crumbled the moment she lost concentration with the matter at hand; he had pulled her away from her comfort zone. She didn't want him to work it out; she would have preferred to tell him, even though she was deeply afraid that he would be livid with her.

The gamble worked.

Lexi hadn't demanded that the male rabbit was to leave her alone; she didn't hurt him, nor shout at him for seducing her.

"I do Lexi. I do know...and I'm not lying…" He shook his head again, looking at her before gulping quietly. "…I know you're pregnant, Lex."

* * *


	23. Tension

**Well, personally I think this chapter isn't one of my best, especially looking back on the previous one, but, I'll let you guys be the judge of that!**

**This chapter isn't very exciting, there isn't much action or anything in it *Sigh*, but I'll be able to make up for that in the chapters to come. **

**BUT! I strongly advise that, although I have just said that I personally don't think it is very good, you must read it; as this is quite an important chapter…stuff happens.**

**So anyway, now that I've finished my rant, I shall let you read!**

**(Also, the song that is featured at the end of the chapter is 'Rooftops' by a welsh band – 'LostProphets' I included the song in the chapter because it fit in well with the situation, and the lyrics are meaningful and really fit in with the theme. I strongly suggest to listen to the song, it is one of my favourites!)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Her voice trembled.

It trembled with every breath she drew into her lungs.

It trembled as she tried to speak.

As she tried to find the right words.

As she tried to understand.

As she tried to believe him.

Believe every word that had come from the rabbit's lips.

He knew it. And she knew it.

But somehow, she didn't want _him _to know.

She wanted to tell him herself…when she had the courage.

When he was happy, when she was sure that he wouldn't get _too_ angry with her.

But he worked it out.

Everything.

Everything that she tried to hide from him.

Everything that she didn't want him to know.

Everything.

They sat, opposite each other, never taking their eyes off of the other as they tried to process the information into their brains.

For Ace, it was harder.

Realisation hit him like a shovel. His girlfriend, Lexi, his best friend, who he had loved since the first moment he saw her, who he had wanted to spend the rest of his life with; was pregnant.

With his child.

He looked at her, straight in the eyes. He didn't want to believe it, but it seemed so obvious now; the puking, the temperature, the dizziness, the fatigue….the _fainting_. How could he let himself be so stupid? It was obvious that it could have easily happened to her, and he could've at least done _something _to make sure that this didn't happen.

He wanted to question her, ask her if she was sure, and ask her if the test was accurate. But he couldn't. He knew it would be too painful for her, he had to accept it, but what were they to do?

How could they cope?

Should they get rid of it?

How would they tell the others?

What would their parents….their siblings, and their friends think?

Ace sighed and shut his eyes tightly, believing the facts was hard enough, but to know that he had to support her; and that they would be having a child was difficult to believe.

It reminded him of when he decided to live with his uncle; it was strange to wake up in a different room, a different house. And grasping the fact that he would be living there for a while was strange to him…but this, this was too…_difficult_.

"What do we do?" Lexi spoke quietly, and redirected her stare to the hammock underneath her, she didn't need to see his furious expression, she knew that he was livid with her, and she tensed up and shut her eyes, bracing herself for the laments and shouts of protest that would come from her partner.

But it never happened.

Instead she felt his lips against hers, not even realising how he had gotten so close to her without her feeling or hearing him, she opened her eyes in surprise.

"I don't know…" He replied as he looked at her in the eyes, she looked back. He placed a hand on her chin, his thumb gently stroking the soft fur on her cheek.

"I don't know…" He sighed and looked down at her as he slowly placed a hand on the left hand side of her chest, above her breast, and he looked at his hand for a moment, deep in thought before he spoke softly "I…guess that heart's gonna be beating for two soon." He looked at her eyes again, but she turned her head away from him, he could see that she was scared.

"Lexi…"

"Ace…I…I don't want this…I don't want to be…I'm not ready to…be…Ace, I can't be a mother…not yet."

Ace could see tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke, and he, once again, pressed his lips against hers, he continued several times before she finally kissed him back. He broke away after some moments, his face close to hers as he spoke, "I know, Lexi. But I'm gonna help, I'll do everyt'in' dat I can to help you…"

"No!" Lexi interrupted him, her voice quiet but frantic, "Ace, I don't want you to throw away everything for this…just…just don't worry about it, okay. I'll look after it…I don't want you to give up everything that you've got, everything that you've worked for."

"Lexi, dis is my fault, dis couldn't have happened to you on your own, dis is my mistake too."

"But Ace!" He voice trembled as she spoke, "This'll mean throwing away your life for me…for…you know…and I don't want you to." She could see that he was about to say something, to contradict her, most likely, so she continued, "This is your future that you're destroying!"

"Lexi, I'm not gonna be _destroyin' _anyt'in'" He spoke soothingly as he ran a hand through her hair, "Da baby's my future, and so are you. Dis is my problem too, and don't you even try to t'ink that I'm just gonna leave you to handle dis on your own, I won't let you, I'll help – in every way dat I possibly can, I'll help you."

And again he pressed his lips to hers; she gave in immediately as he did so, finding comfort in his words and his proximity. She felt safe, secure, like she always did when she was with him.

"What…about-the…guys?" She whispered. Her sentence was continually interrupted as she tried to draw in air as they kissed.

"Forget about da guys…for now…" This time they both felt the same way as Ace had done previously, that something was about to happen that they would prefer not to, "wait, wait wait wait _wait_!" Ace backed away from her, "Not dat again…" He smiled at her, while she did the same.

The two got off of the hammock and walked towards the door to Lexi's room, but she stopped them both, quickly placing a hand on his chest to make him stop, she lent her back against the wall and looked up at him. "What do we tell the guys…I mean, we've been in here for a while now…and they…might…"

Ace thought for some time, "Well…dey didn't see me go in here…"

"Yeah, but they might get suspicious when they realise that you and I have been _together _and away from them for a while…"

"True…"

Lexi kept her eyes focused on his as he thought about their options.

"Okay, here's what we do…"

--

"You know…" Duck started as he sat down at the table beside Tech. The rest of the team gave him confused looks as they turned their attention from their dinner, to the waterfowl, "What's up with Lexi lately, I mean she was really moody, and then she was sick…she was happy….and then she had cried….and now Ace is missing…I think he knows something…"

"dhsjf shfjsf skfsh help?" Slam grunted as he chewed on some chicken from his plate.

"I'm gonna have to go with Duck on this one," Tech started, "Slam, somehow I doubt that Ace is trying to help…the two of them have been acting very strange…and now they've gonna off somewhere instead of joining us for dinner…it seems _suspicious_…"

Rev looked between his three sceptical comrades before pushing his plate of food away from him and sighing. "…well….maybe-they-just-want-some-privacy?" He looked up, hoping that the others would consider that, rather than implicate their fellow team mates; further than they had already done.

Duck looked unconvinced, "Yeah…but why? We're a team, remember? We hardly ever spend time without each other….why are _they _suddenly pulling away from us?"

Tech looked up thoughtfully, taking into account what the mallard had just said, "Well…they are going out…it's understandable that they would want to spend some time together…"

"Yeah," Duck scoffed as he crossed his arms, "Well…how do we know that they haven't spent time _together_…already?" He emphasised on the word 'together' hinting at something that the others were all perfectly aware of.

Slam was confused, he had noticed the strange behaviour of Ace and Lexi lately, but he had just kept his mouth shut, he didn't want to accuse them of anything, they had the right to be together as a couple…but not abiding by the basic rules of the tower – the rules Zadavia had made clear when they first discovered that they would be living together- was odd to the Tasmanian devil.

He looked at Duck sceptically, "dhf sjdakfsh at?"

"What am I getting at?" What am I…?" Duck stood up, obviously annoyed, "What do you think the two of them could do….what do you think they might have _already_ done? Come on guys, it's not _that_ difficult to work out, they are rabbits y'know!"

Tech looked up at Duck angrily, "Duck, let's not jump to any conclusions…the only time that we know they spent a night together was last night, and Lexi was really sick…somehow I doubt anything would've happened between them under those circumstances…"

"Yeah, well what about all of the other nights? They've been going out for over a week"

"Duck, seriously…just stop." Tech was trying desperately to calm the mallard down. The coyote could see that Rev looked uncomfortable with the situation, and he didn't want to chance Lexi or Ace coming in while they were talking about such a thing.

As if on cue, the Loonatic leader walked in, he had a towel slung over his shoulder, and had a blank look on his face. He walked in slowly, not as proudly and as swiftly as he normally would do, Tech noted, and he hastily leant against one of the counters as if he was faint.

"Umm…are…you okay, chief?" Tech asked, he walked over to Ace, ready to give him some support if the bunny did actually fall over.

Ace however, stood up straight, taking a deep breath, and looked at Tech, though not making eye contact. "Yeah, Tech…I'm fine…I was just…._trainin'_…and, I t'ink I'm a bit shaken…I had a close call with one of those ninjas…"

"They are just holograms, Ace…" Tech crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed that the bunny was obviously hiding something.

"Well maybe I'm just gettin' old…" Ace replied sarcastically, still not making eye contact with Tech as he walked over to the table.

Duck eyed him as he sat down opposite him, Ace was normally a joker, but he would never say one with sarcasm like he just did, obviously the male rabbit of the team was annoyed – he wasn't behaving like himself. He watched him as he slouched over the table with an incomprehensive look on his face. Duck studied his expression, trying to make some sense out of it, before shrugging and voicing one of his thoughts, "So…where's Lex?"

"Huh?" Ace asked quickly, looking at the mallard with wide eyes.

Duck was taken aback by Ace's actions; surely there was no need for the bunny to suddenly act so…_strange. _The mallard was now becoming annoyed with his leader, if there was something bothering him, he needed to tell his team, and not bottle it up and make everyone else question whether it is them that he's angry with. This time he repeated his query louder than he had previously done, in case the bunny hadn't heard him properly. "I said, where's…"

"…Right here Duck." Lexi sighed as she walked into the room quickly. She noticed how Tech looked at her accusingly as she walked down the few steps from the main room into the adjoining kitchen area where her fellow team mates were gathered. She was startled by the coyote's glare and kept her distance as she walked past, but like Ace; she didn't make eye contact with Tech.

She hesitated when she stood before the table where the rest of the team, minus her and Tech, sat. Ace leant on the table with one arm folded over it, while one elbow rested lazily on it; with one of his hand supporting his head as he looked at his faint reflection on the table. He didn't look up at Lexi, nor did she look at him, instead, she sat in the vacant seat next to Duck.

Tech, who shared the shocked expressions that Duck, Rev and Slam wore, sat in the empty seat next to Ace, eyeing the rabbit next to him as he did. Tech expected the yellow hued bunny to quickly raise his head up, and tell him that Lexi was going to sit there, but instead he didn't even move.

Tech then looked across at Lexi, she too had a blank stare on her face, but she almost looked hurt as well, and Tech began to wonder if something had happened between her and Ace. When Lexi noticed Tech staring at her intently, for a split second, the two met eyes, she hastily turned away to where Slam sat; but she didn't look at the devil, but merely at the floor by her feet.

Duck looked at Lexi worriedly; he glanced at Tech, who discreetly gestured his head to Ace, before looking at Lexi. The mallard hesitantly rested a hand on Lexi's shoulder, Tech noticed that she shut her eyes tightly at the touch and pursed her lips together as if she was in pain. "Lexi..."

Before Duck could voice another word Lexi stood up quickly and clenched her fists, she shut her eyes again a shook her head slowly, Duck stared up at her, surprised by her sudden movement and her angered body stance.

"Lexi-what's-wrong?" Rev stood up too, allowing his chair to fall to the ground with the abrupt action; he glanced at Ace who still didn't look up from the table and then back to Lexi.

Lexi began to walk towards the door that led out of their headquarters, "I…I've just gotta get out of here…" She spoke quickly, and her voice trembled with every word.

Tech now stood up too, deciding to ignore the unresponsive and seemingly unconcerned male rabbit next to him, "When will you be back?"

She furrowed her eyebrows and drew in a shaky breath, "Late…_probably_…"

Minus Ace, The rest of the team looked uncomfortable about that idea, "Lexi…I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out alone for a long time…" Tech started.

"Who do you think you are, my _dad_?!" Lexi glared at the coyote, but the word _Dad_ made her freeze and she dropped her gaze to the floor the moment she said it, "It…it doesn't even matter right now anyway…" She spoke in a quieter voice.

Before the others had the chance to question her, Lexi left; the doors shutting loudly behind her. After staring at the closed doors for about half of a minute, the remaining team members turned to face Ace.

"Ace, what's going on?" Tech asked slowly, he could see Ace's fists clench as the coyote spoke and thought it best not to say anything too accusing.

But like Lexi, Ace stood up quickly, "Keep out of business dat isn't your own, Tech" Ace hastily left the room, and walked down the corridor and into the training room. While the rest of the team stood in silence.

Duck sighed and sat down, "Well, I hate to say I told you so…but I told you so."

Tech rolled his eyes and massaged his temples, "Yeah, you _are_ right Duck. Something's up."

--

Ace had left the tower roughly an hour after Lexi had done so. He hadn't spoken to anyone but when he left the training room he was tired, and he looked angry. He still had the blank look on his face, which made the other's feel numb whenever they looked at him.

He went without a jacket, it was summer anyway that _and_ he really didn't care about his feelings at that point.

He walked along the pathway which led to the park, the sun was beginning to set which gave everywhere a summery vibe to it, there was a gentle breeze which was warm and comforting, like how he felt when he held… _her._

He didn't feel like smiling to the children that ran past him, several metres away from their parents as they left the park for the day and retreated to their home for their dinner.

He didn't feel like eating anything, he had missed out on lunch and dinner and he had eaten very little for breakfast, but despite his grumbling belly, and the aromas of food that swept out of the nearby restaurants which bordered the park, he continued to walk. Musing and sulking over the situation.

As he walked, he passed through an arch way of trees; he walked along a gravel path where the rows of trees met up with three that were planted in the same way. At the centre, more trees were planted in the shape of a large circle, where a 'North, South, East, West' pillar was, each row of trees was aligned with the four different directions on the pillar.

There were several benches around the circle, and ahead of him, Ace recognised a familiar pair of ears which he could see over the benches. He quickened his pace, before jumping over the bench and sitting beside Lexi. He greeted her with a kiss and a smile before speaking.

"So…are you okay? Nothin' bad happened to you on your way here, did it?"

Lexi smiled back at him, "No…I mean…yes…wait, I mean…I'm okay, and nothing bad happened. Yeah, that makes sense." She smiled at him.

"Dat's good."

"Ace," Lexi spoke softly, but he could tell that she had an essence of worry, pity and guilt in her voice. "I'm…not too comfortable with lying to the guys…"

"Lexi…" Ace interrupted her, he sighed, "Look, Pretending dat we were both angry and showing signs that we wanted to be alone…_separately _meant dat we had da opportunity to leave without da others bombarding us with accusing questions. It was da only way…"

Lexi sighed and slumped in posture, "I know…but still…"

Ace interrupted her again, "Lex, we've been lying to them for da past week or so about us. Sure they no that we're _dating _but dey don't know about da whole…_t'ing _t'ing…and us sharing a bed for da past week…and-a-bit."

Lexi looked puzzled, "Wait, I'm confused; what _thing _thing.

"You know…the _big _thing…big _problem..._mistake…" He sighed, "Night. Of. Conception…"

It finally clicked with Lexi, "Oh…right, yeah…_that_."

"Yeah…"

"So...it's getting a bit cold, you wanna head home?" Ace asked, standing up and holding out a hand for his girlfriend.

"Yep." She replied as she put her hand in his and they began to walk towards the arch way of trees which led to their headquarters.

But before leaving, the two simultaneously stopped, turned around, and checked their pockets.

The both walked to a fountain at the centre of the circle of trees. A stone engraved plaque read: '_In Memory of Acmetropolis' citizens' _Underneath the plaque was a smaller sign, the Loonatics had already read it though, and the two bunnies tossed their spare change into the fountain, and began to walk home.

_

* * *

_

_'In Memory of Acmetropolis' citizens'_

_'This fountain is dedicated to the men, women and children who were lost to us during, and in the aftermath of the 2772 meteor. Though the city-planet was gifted with our loving heroes, the Loonatics, we will never forget the terrible loss of life that has scarred our memories forever. But we will always love all those who have passed on from this world to the next, and we will be with them one day, but until then; we will continue to live our lives as the good-hearted and helpful citizens of Acmetropolis, and know that our loved ones are watching over us, wherever we are.'_

* * *

--

_When our time is up  
When our lives are done  
Will we say, we've had our fun_

"You done starin' yet?"

_Will we make a mark this time  
Will we always say we tried_

Truthfully she wasn't, Lexi wanted to just sit there, Ace's arm wrapped tenderly around her waist, gazing up at the billions of stars over head; just the two of them together.

_Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your heart out  
Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your heart out_

The two sat in the hanger of their headquarters, they sat together, watching the stars together as they thought about the situation at hand, and what they were going to do about it.

_Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your heart out  
This is all we got now  
Everybody scream your heart out_

"Hmm?"

_All the love I've met  
I have no regrets  
If it all ends now, I'm set_

"I said, are you done starin' yet. You've been sitting there starin' into space for over five minutes. You okay?" Ace asked, with a slightly concerned look on his face, he was becoming very worried for Lexi. She was obviously upset about everything, and the fact that she continued to space out, look upset, and act as though she had forgotten how to talk made him worry. Sure he was upset about it, he was terrified! But she was dreadfully worried.

_Will we make a mark this time  
Will we always say we tried_

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess, I just wasn't expecting this, that's all." Lexi half smiled, sighed, and dropped her gaze to the floor. Lexi watched as her hand played with a small stone that rested by her crossed legs. She gently pushed it, causing it to roll to her feet, where she would gently nudge it back. She continued with the process, Ace, who eventually noticed that she was unusually distracted by something, watched it; but not with the same curiosity as his partner.

_Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your heart out  
Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your heart out_

Ace frowned, he looked back up at her, and she did the same when he spoke, "What do you mean?"

"I guess....Maybe what we did was a bad idea. What are we gonna do? I would've thought if anything you would've been slightly...I don't know, Stressed, disappointed, Angry....?" She flinched, wondering if the anger she had expected would come from him would suddenly come now, now that she had mentioned it.

_Standing on the rooftops  
Wait until the bombs drop_

"....Now hold up for a minute, Sure this isn't, at all what I was expecting, and definitely not what I really wanted to happen to you, but why would I be angry?" He pleaded, he looked straight into her eyes and his voice broke as e spoke, obviously upset that she thought that he would be angry with her.

_This is all we got now  
Scream until your heart stops_

"I don't know, it's a big shock, and right now...I don't think there is anything I can do about it..." Lexi roughly turned her head away; she didn't want him to see the tears streaming down her face.

_Never gonna regret  
Watching every sunset_

"Hey." Ace said softly. He put his hand under her chin, so she would look at him; her eyes sparkled with the salty tears that had now moistened them more, he liked it when her eyes sparkled…but not with tears...

_Listen to your heartbeat  
All the love that we found_

"Lexi, this isn't your fault. If anything...It's mine!" He blurted out the last part, in an attempt to allow the blame to somehow shift to him, and of course, to try and make her smile.

_Standing on the rooftops  
Wait until the bombs drop_

Lexi started to battle with her own conscience, trying to make sense of the whole situation was becoming difficult, like fighting with an exact replica of yourself, no matter how many punches you throw, somehow they only hurt you. 'It hasn't worked. I feel sick and humiliate. How can I even look at him? He's caring at least, and he's trying to help, but he has, and never will, know what I'm going through.'

_This is all we got now  
Scream until your heart stops_

"Lex, obviously, I have no idea how you feel right now, but I can promise you I'll help. So don't think I'm just gonna bail on you just because this is mainly concerning you."

_Never gonna regret  
Watching every sunset_

Lexi knew that he meant what he said, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat…apprehensive of his answer.

_Listen to your heartbeat  
All the love that we found_

She looked at him, her expression mixed between gratefulness, hope and disbelief. "Thank you." She whispered before throwing her arms round his neck, she wasn't sure whether she was happy or dismal but suddenly it felt as though all the emotions that had been bottled up inside her were pouring out. She didn't care if anyone else saw them, she didn't care that Ace could see, hear and feel her crying into his chest. All Lexi knew was throughout the period of time she was crying, He was there.

_Scream your heart out_

Lexi pulled away sharply, suddenly remembering a thought that had crossed her mind earlier, a thought that she wanted…needed to share with him, "I guess deep down; that was what I was afraid of most... whether you would be here for me or not." Ashamed of her own thoughts, Lexi turned her head away from him. "I don't even know how I could let myself think you wouldn't be. You've always cared, for as long as I've known you. Since the day we were all brought together as a team, and you were chosen to be our leader, you've looked after us. And you've looked after me."

_Scream your heart out_

Ace smiled and pulled her into a hug.

_Scream your heart out_

"I'll always be here for you, you can tell me anything...and don't you forget that." He whispered. "You're the one person I've loved this much. I would lay my own life down for you, happy just to know you'll be safe."

_Scream your_

Lexi looked up at him, her arms still wrapped around his middle, staring into his eyes. He smiled when he noticed, before leaning in and passionately kissing her.

_Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your heart out  
Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your heart out_

Lexi smiled happily and let him continue.

_Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your heart out  
Standing on the rooftops  
Everybody scream your…_

The two sat there for hours, Ace still lovingly embracing Lexi, he was about to speak to her again, because she hadn't said anything for while, but looking down, he realised that she was asleep, readjusting his position; he picked her up, bridal style and walked to his room with her in his arms. He didn't need to be careful about the others seeing him carry her to his room, it was past 11:00, the others were probably asleep, and Tech was most likely still in his lab.

Ace slowly and carefully carried her into his room, he didn't bother with turning on his bedroom light, he knew his room, and he could easily find his bed without the aid of a light. When he did find it, he carefully laid her down, pulling back the covers with one hand, and laying her in his bed. Before he had tucked her feet underneath the sheets, he removed her shoes and wrist cuffs, at least that way her night sleep wouldn't be too uncomfortable.

She stirred when he was about to change into his sleep wear and clean his teeth, and turned around, noticing that she was awake.

He smiled and walked back to her side, "You fell asleep."

"Yeah, I figured." She yawned, "I'll be right back I'll get into my pyjamas…" She spoke groggily, obviously tired and annoyed that she had awoken from her slumber, and she left the room.

Ace smiled as he watched her leave, before resuming with his previous task of changing into his pyjamas and cleaning his teeth.

--

Once Lexi had returned after getting herself ready for bed, she climbed in next to Ace, who was waiting for her, she sighed with relaxation, happy that she finally had the opportunity to sleep and calm herself down after the long day.

She rested her head on his chest, as she always did, and closed her eyes. But a sudden thought made her open her jade orbs once more and she spoke drowsily, "I think we should tell the guys what's been going on." She announced, half asleep.

"Are you sure?" Ace said, he leaned up on his arms carefully, so that he wouldn't hurt her, and looked down at her. He was concerned over how the others would react, but he also knew that they needed to know, despite how awkward things would get afterwards.

"Yes." Lexi answered briefly before drifting off to sleep again.

'Well this is gonna go down well' Ace thought sarcastically before, too drifting into a deep slumber.

***

End of Flashback

* * *


	24. Run

**I'm really sorry, guys!**

**This chapter has taken forever, but I've had so much homework to do, and I haven't been feeling well lately, plus it's been the hottest it's been so far this year over here in England, so I've spent some time outside so enjoy it before it rains…tomorrow ******

**But I have a new chapter!**

**I entitled it 'Run' because it is the name of the song that I used, and not because there is a big dramatic bit!**

**Seriously, this story could become a musical with the amount of music I've put in it, the song featured in **_**this **_**chapter is:**

'**Run' by Snow Patrol**

**I saw it live, twas awesome, I recommend anyone to take the opportunity to see Snow Patrol live, they are amazing in concert!**

**Anyway…I'm getting of track…**

**Oh yeah, there is a cliff hanger at the end of this chapter, but I figured that it would be a fitting ending to the chapter, plus I love leaving you guys in suspense!**

*******

**ALSO! I created a weird cover/title page...._thingy _for 'The Big Mistake', there's a link to it on my newly updated profile!**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

"So, are you ready, Lex?" Ace asked as he stood up, he offered a hand to Lexi as she sat on his bed before him. A blank gaze spread itself across her face after what he had just said.

They had recently been reminiscing everything that had happened to them before this moment.

_The_ moment.

The moment where they had to tell their friends of what was going on between them, and what had happened because of just one night…

One mistake.

One impulsive action.

One thing.

Lexi sighed. "Yeah, let's go." She held Ace's hand as she stood up, and clutched it tightly as they walked out of his room.

Neither spoke as they opened Ace's door. Both were amazed at how difficult the action actually was, as they took their first few steps out of his room, they heard the chatter of their friends from the kitchen.

With a sigh, the two began to walk.

_I'll sing it one last time for you  
Then we really have to go  
You've been the only thing that's right  
In all I've done_

It was like walking from a dark tunnel, and into the light of day. It felt all so relieving to the bunny couple, but they were afraid. Afraid of what lay in wait ahead of them.

A tunnel is a blind, deadly thing.

If there is no caution when walking through one, one could easily be overcome in the darkened mass of stale aromas and unknown dangers.

To pass through the end of the tunnel, one must be ever more cautious.

Anything could be waiting at the end.

Anything could easily ambush and overcome you.

Anything could kill you.

Or lay blame on you….

_  
And I can barely look at you  
But every single time I do  
I know we'll make it anywhere  
Away from here_

They each took a deep breath as they walked into the kitchen. Their chests feeling like they were compressed with lead, it felt difficult for them to breathe.

But it was harder to look at their accusing team mate's stares; as they all turned their attention, their glares, to Ace and Lexi as they entered the kitchen.

_Light up, light up  
As if you have a choice  
Even if you cannot hear my voice  
I'll be right beside you dear_

Louder, louder  
And we'll run for our lives  
I can hardly speak I understand  
Why you can't raise your voice to say

"Guys," Ace spoke with a tone of authority in his voice. Lexi looked up at him anxiously, clutching his hand ever more tightly through her anticipation. "We need to talk."

The rest of the team eyed each other suspiciously, they were all confused and annoyed at the bunny duo after their actions yesterday, and were hoping that they would receive an apology, and an explanation about their behaviour.

Tech and Duck exchanged glances as they pulled up a chair for themselves and sat down. Their eyes never straying from the two bunnies as they sat down slowly and shakily, the weight of the stares that came from their team mates made them ever more nervous.

_  
To think I might not see those eyes  
Makes it so hard not to cry  
And as we say our long goodbye  
I nearly do_

"So…" Duck started smugly, fiddling with his thumbs as he glanced at the table in front of him, "I see that the two of you are back together then?" He quickly turned his stare to them._  
_

Ace and Lexi both stared at the floor in shame, "Duck…" Lexi turned back to the group and shut her eyes tightly as she spoke, "We hadn't fallen out…"

"It…was a…diversion…" Ace said quietly, he stared at the table. He wanted to be able to look at his friends' eyes when he spoke to them, but suddenly his neck felt heavy, and he couldn't raise his head up to speak to them properly. Instead he fixed his gaze on the faint reflection of himself on the table.

"_Diversion_?" Tech clarified, not entirely sure what he was talking about. "Explain…"

"Umm…we…we had something…on our minds….something important…" Lexi started, doing her best to look at Tech in the eyes as she spoke to him. It half worked, but she kept switching her gaze from him, to her hands that rested in front of her on the table.

"Like what?"

_Light up, light up  
As if you have a choice  
Even if you cannot hear my voice  
I'll be right beside you dear_

Lexi couldn't answer that. She couldn't think of what to say in response to him. Instead she shook her head slowly, resisting the urge to run out of the room.

Louder, louder  
And we'll run for our lives  
I can hardly speak I understand  
Why you can't raise your voice to say

Ace continued. "It was important…and personal…_really _personal…umm…and actin' as though we were annoyed was da only way dat we would've been able to talk together without you guys getting' any more suspicious….but I guess dat didn't work."

_Slower, Slower  
We don't have time for that  
All I want is to find an easier way  
To get out of our little heads_

"Ya got that right, _bunny_." Duck scoffed, he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "So you _lied_ to us."

_Have heart my dear  
We're bound to be afraid  
Even if it's just for a few days  
Making up for all this mess_

"Yeah Duck. Yeah, we did." Ace said quietly. "In fact we've been lying to you guys about a lot of t'ings lately.

No-one spoke, the rest of the team simply looked at Ace and Lexi more intently than they had previously done.

"Umm…" Lexi took a deep breath, not entirely sure how to say it, and she definitely didn't want to have to look at them when she did say it."

She sat with her eyes shut for some time, Ace put an arm around her, trying to comfort her, and he was actually surprised that _she_ was going to be the one to tell them, he had imagined that it would've had to be him that would tell the others…

Duck, however, was getting impatient. "What, then? What's the big one, what's this _big_, lie that you haven't told us yet?"

_Light up, light up  
As if you have a choice  
Even if you cannot hear my voice  
I'll be right beside you dear_

Taking a deep breath, Lexi glanced at her team mates, before staring down at her reflection on the table.

"I'm pregnant."

--

Pregnant

The word hung in the air like a stale aroma.

An Aroma that was both grotesque and intriguing.

None wanted to move, but no one would speak.

It seemed as though the very word had stopped time.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Tech finally found his composure and spoke…_shakily_, but he spoke, "You…you're….you're…pregnant...you're _pregnant_?"

Lexi sighed and hugged one of her arms, staring down at herself in shame, she nodded.

Duck now spoke too; he had more confidence in the situation than the coyote next to him. "You're pregnant…"

Lexi was beginning to get annoyed, and angrily raised her voice and stared at the mallard as she spoke loudly, "Yeah, Guys. I'm pregnant, but can we please just _stop_ saying the word, its bad enough that it's happened, I don't need you guys repeating it…"

"And why shouldn't we?" Duck interrupted her. Ace now looked up at the situation, his eyebrows quickly furrowed and he glared at the mallard for using such a tone on his girlfriend, "I mean, it's not like it's my fault this has happened." He continued, waving his arms in the air as he spoke.

He walked around the table and leant on the table in front of Lexi, he moved with such speed that it caught the female bunny off guard and she jumped back in surprise, almost knocking her and her chair to the ground as she hastily leant back in it.

"So whose is it then, Lex?" He moved closer to her, his face close to hers as he tried to be intimidating, "Is it Tech's, Slam's, Rev's…_mine_…"

Lexi interrupted him, rolling her eyes as she spoke, "Yeah, don't flatter yourself, Duck."

Duck gave her an annoyed glance before continuing, "I mean, you've been here a lot, so it has to be one of us...so whose is it?"

Lexi could feel the weight of her team mates' stares as they waited for an answer, her eyes darted to each of them. Tech and Rev were now standing close by to Duck, Tech's arms were crossed over his chest and he looked at Lexi expectantly, Rev was closer to Duck, but seemed more preoccupied with making sure that the mallard wasn't going to potentially harm the two bunnies, and was ready to pull him back if he tried anything. Slam sat opposite to Lexi at the other end of the table, he looked confused and stared at her; but even his puzzled expression made her nervous.

She gulped quietly and shut her eyes; "Take a wild guess…" was all she managed to say. She spoke quietly, obviously embarrassed and scared about her current predicament, but her response was perfectly audible to all, and it didn't take _that_ vague reply for the rest of the team to know who she was talking about; as their eyes immediately darted to Ace.

Lexi reluctantly opened her eyes when she heard Ace speak. He sounded more angry than ashamed or embarrassed like she was….maybe this was the anger that she had assumed would come from him when he first found out about it.

The grey bunny stood up quickly as he spoke, knowing that he'd gain more authority the higher he was, and considering Slam, who was taller than him, was sitting down effectively making the male rabbit the tallest; it wasn't difficult to accomplish.

"Yeah guys, it's mine. But you know what; at least I'm tryin' to do somethin' constructive about dis…"

"Like what?" Tech interrupted the rabbit coldly. Lexi's eyes darted up to her partner after the coyote said this, anxious about Ace's response.

"Well for one, I'm not implicatin' anyone…"

"Well yeah, 'cause you're to blame." Duck now stood up too, allowing Lexi to properly see the situation, she let out a sigh of relief when he moved away from her – she didn't like his proximity at all, so it was to her comfort that he withdrew himself from her.

Ace glared at Duck, but then, realising that he had a point, sighed in defeat. "Yeah okay, it is my fault but…why blame me when we have _bigger_ problems to worry about."

"Like what?" Duck spoke with a tone of superiority in his voice, it seemed as though he was more focused on making his leader be the one who was '_in trouble' _rather than himself for a change.

Ace sighed in annoyance, "You know…the whole, havin' a baby t'ing?!"

Tech looked alarmed when Ace said this, "Wait, you're not seriously gonna keep it, are you?"

Ace drooped his shoulders, his stance becoming more saddened, he glanced down at Lexi, the sparkles that he normally saw in her eyes were gone, she was sad, scared. Her lip trembled and her expression clearly showed that she was silently pleading for him to answer for her; obviously she didn't want to speak and draw more attention to herself.

"I...we…I'm…not sure…" He leant against the table, using one arm to support him, while his other rubbed the back of his neck, he let out a sigh and shut his eyes tightly.

The room was silent

Even the breathing of the six anthros wasn't audible; no one wanted to make a sound, lest they draw unnecessary attention to themselves.

Everyone either sat or stood, musing over the current situation, wondering what was to be done…or fearing what the consequences could be…

"How-long-have-you-known?" Rev spoke quietly, not making eye contact with anyone. Instead he stared at his feet, waiting for an answer.

Lexi didn't reply, instead she sat, perfectly still, her eyes focused merely on the table in front of her, her hands resting on her lap underneath the table. But the rest of the team could easily see that she was shaking, and was almost in tears.

Ace eyed Lexi as he spoke in response to Rev, never taking his eyes off of his partner, "I only found out yesterday…_afternoon_…a couple of hours after we got back from da mission…"

"And you, Lex?" Tech addressed the female bunny, who still didn't move or speak. Growing concerned for her well being, Tech moved closer, and bent down on his haunches and tried his best to see her face, she stared down at her hands, which made it difficult for any of them to read her facial expression from a standing position.

Ace did the same as Tech, and rested one of his hands on her leg, trying to get her to respond to the coyote's query. "Lex…Lexi, come on Lex…"

Ace glanced at Tech, the coyote shared the male rabbit's concerned facial expression, and Ace now noticed that so did the rest of the team, who stood by the table, still close to the female rabbit, but not in the same way as himself and Tech.

"Come on Lexi," Tech spoke soothingly as he tried to get the pink bunny to respond, "I know you're scared, but…we need to know…"

Lexi shut her eyes briefly before quietly replying, "Yesterday morning…when you guys were on the…the mission…I was trying to work out what was wrong with me….and then….I kinda…remembered…"

"Remember what?" Duck asked sourly.

Lexi glared at him and rolled her eyes, "You're so naïve…" She muttered.

The small comment annoyed the waterfowl, who marched up to the female rabbit…well, as far as he could get to her before Rev and Tech stood in the way, knowing that a confrontation was the last thing that they really needed right now.

"Yeah, well just remember who's in this situation, missy. It aint my fault that the two of you couldn't stop yourselves….from what I remember that kind of behaviour wasn't permitted here…that's what I recall hearing from the boss lady anyway." The waterfowl smugly crossed his arms, shutting his eyes and rising is chin up in arrogant triumph.

Lexi looked as though she was going to retaliate, but found that the Duck did have a point. Zadavia had made it perfectly clear, that _that _type of physical interaction was strictly prohibited…for obvious reasons, instead, Lexi hung her head in shame.

Ace, however, didn't give in to the reasoning like his partner had, and stood up angrily, "Duck! If you keep usin' dat tone, and dat attitude on her, then so help me I'll…"

"What, kick me off the team?" Duck interrupted the rabbit, there was no hint of fear in the mallard's tone of voice, his response was somewhat cocky _and_ courageous.

Ace tensed up, and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead it was Duck who spoke again.

"'Cause technically, I haven't done anything wrong. I'm merely stating the obvious facts; _if _Zadavia finds out about this, then there will be severe consequences."

The rest of the team stared at Duck in disbelief and intrigue. Disbelief that the Duck could know so much about this, but intrigue to know what fate would befall the two rabbits of the team.

"…What _consequences_?" Ace asked hesitantly.

Tech spoke after Ace, "And how do _you _know?"

"Well it's obvious that Lexi isn't gonna be much use to the team if she's pregnant, she won't be able to fight; let alone defend herself. It's better for all of us if she just leaves. It could be like a maternity leave, and then if Zadavia isn't too mad, maybe she'd be back in the team again?" He shrugged his shoulders before continuing, "Ace. She'd probably give _you _a stern talking to, but I doubt she'd make you leave the team, as much as I'd hate to admit it, you're a valuable member…and you're the leader."

Ace looked back at Lexi and bit his lip, he didn't like the idea of Zadavia talking to him about what had happened, nor did he like the idea of Lexi having to leave the team and support the child by herself either.

Duck turned to Tech, "And how do I know, you ask? 'Cause Zadavia told me."

"What?" Was all that came from the coyote's mouth as he stared at the mallard with confusion.

Duck let out a heavy sigh, "She said that out of all of us…" His eyes landed on Lexi, "Of all of us _guys_….she thought that I was the most likely person who would…y'know…get into this type of situation…"

There was silence as the rest of the team tried to comprehend this piece of information.

At last someone spoke.

Of all of the people that they would have expected to hear the answer from, Lexi was the one who responded.

"That's disgusting."

--

Lexi sighed as she lay down on Ace's bed while the grey bunny of the team sat next to her, giving her a pitiful smile.

"Well…that was harder than I thought it was gonna be." Lexi shut her eyes, trying to relax, she was still tense after what they had just been through.

"To be honest, I thought it went pretty well….you know, considerin' they didn't kill me…"

Lexi chuckled and sat up, "Yeah, I guess it did go better than how it could've done."

"Yeah," Ace smiled back at her, but then stared down at the bed underneath him, seemingly thinking."

Lexi sighed and slumped in posture, she was still afraid that he was going to be angry with her at some point about the entire situation; she knew he would be sad and angry and it would be her fault.

Ace put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him, "Lex, we'll get around dis, we just need to…think _logically_." He smiled down at her as an idea came to his mind. He released his hold on her, and scooted across the bed so that he was facing her.

"What?" Lexi asked, surprised at his sudden and unannounced movement.

"I'm gonna teach you how to meditate. I t'ink we could both do with somethin' to take our minds off of dis, and to help deal with da stress."

Lexi smiled and rolled her eyes, "Okay. What do I have to do?"

Ace crossed his legs and rested his hands in his lap, gesturing fro Lexi to do the same. Next he took a deep breath, before breathing out slowly and steadily. "You just need to close your eyes, don't t'ink about anythin' else, and focus on your breathin'; relax."

He repeated his previous action, and Lexi looked at him quizzically for some time before doing the same.

…

She shut her eyes, the light that allowed her to see everything vanished, and soon a swirling blackness engulfed her vision.

She saw spiralling shapes of many colours before her eyes, stars, circles and squares. It felt as if the shapes were passing her, and she as travelling deeper and deeper into the darkness. Suddenly, she stopped. A mass of darkness being the only thing she saw.

She didn't see anything else.

Soon, just as her vision had become strange, so did her hearing.

Her ears throbbed with the desire to hear something and just as the throbbing grew more intense and Lexi felt as she wouldn't be able to take it anymore, it stopped.

Now all she heard was the slow rhythmic breathing from her. The deep but gentle breaths calmed her, and cleared her mind of all distractions, not a thought entered her mind and she felt safe.

Secure

Quiet

_Alone_…

Suddenly her eyes shot open with the new found knowledge. Had she been as trained with meditation as Ace was, she would never have broken out of the trance so easily, but one thought was enough to pluck her relaxed mind out of the haven she had made, the haven which allowed her to escape from reality. But that couldn't happen.

Ace wasn't breathing.

She couldn't hear him, nor could she feel his movement ahead of her.

Staring straight ahead of her she found no-one. There were some small creases on the bed sheets, a sign that he had been there, but there was nothing else.

She looked about her but still she couldn't locate his whereabouts.

He was gone.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up on her knees, before sliding one leg off of the bed, and then standing up.

Lexi walked groggily out of the room, still not hearing or seeing any of her fellow team mates. She began to worry, she wondered how long she had been meditating, it didn't feel like very long to her.

But she recalled how Tech would sit and meditate for hours after Ace had first taught him how, and after waking up he had only thought that a mere few minutes had passed. The coyote had often described how strange it felt, there was an overpowering feeling up numbness which engulfed him and made him feel relaxed and unaware of his senses; and he had often gotten annoyed upon realising that he had wasted most of his day when he might have been able to work in his lab; but Lexi wasn't sure whether that was Ace's intent or not.

She walked down the corridor which led to the main room and still she found no-one. Becoming puzzled and somewhat annoyed, she sat down at the kitchen table and tried to comprehend her thoughts.

It was possible that she too could have been mediating for much longer than she thought she had, and the rest of the team were asleep. But of course that would make no sense, as it was still light outside, and Ace would've been in his room when she woke up.

She sat, annoyed that her team mates had obviously left her without informing her of their departure, and had not only left her alone, but worried and frustrated as well.

"No, Slam. It was _my _egg which saved the day, all you did was push it out of the way, _I _stuck it to the ground and stopped it from moving!"

Lexi sat up, her super hearing alerting her to the presence of Duck…and possibly Slam coming up the elevator to their head quarters.

"Yeah, Guys. Whatever, can we just drop it already? We did a good job and now we're home, surely dat's more important than who saved da day,"

Lexi recognised the voice, and her heart leapt with a sudden anxiety to see him again. She stood up and began to slowly walk to the door to their head quarters.

"…Besides, I need to see if Lexi's…" Ace stepped through the door, only to be met with the sight of Lexi herself, standing in front of him with her arms crossed, with a displeased look on her face.

"…Awake." Ace slumped in posture, he knew what was coming.

"Ace, guys. Where were you, you had me worried, I couldn't find any of you, and you didn't even leave a note or a message or _something _to tell me where the heck you were!"

Ace sighed and put his hands on her shoulders, "Lexi, calm down. We had a mission, and I didn't want to disturb you 'cause I could see dat it was helpin' you."

Lexi drew in a deep breath, and stepped back from her partner so that his hands were no longer on her shoulders, she sighed and looked up at him. "Yeah well, can you please not do it again, I'd prefer to be with you guys when we go on a mission, otherwise I feel like I'm not doing my job, and that's not fair on you guys. And besides, what if you needed me on a mission, or something happened to you and I wouldn't know where you were, or what happened or…"

Ace placed a finger on her lips, "Lexi, relax. Nothing happened. We're all here, and we're all okay." He removed his finger and smiled at her, it was the same reassuring smile that she seemed to always receive from him.

Lexi smiled back in response but discretely rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"And anyway Lex," Tech spoke now, "You probably won't be going on too many missions right now anyway."

Lexi looked horrified, "What? Why, did you guys speak to Zadavia or something, am I off the team…_what_?"

"Lexi!" Tech raised his voice, making Lexi stop panicking, his loud voice and tone catching the bunny off guard. "Lexi," He spoke more quietly now, his voice more soothing and calm, "Lexi you're not off the team. And we haven't told Zadavia, we won't. She doesn't need to know, she's off ruling Freleng, if she comes any time later and finds out than we can explain then, and we won't let anything happen to you."

Lexi let out a sigh of relief after Tech spoke, "Lexi," He continued, "You won't be going on many missions now because…well, because…" he looked her up and down, "You know…if could be harmful to you…or the baby, and we don't want to see you get hurt, or mistreated by bad guys because of this."

"It's for the best."Ace out a hand on her shoulder, as she stared up at the two in disbelief.

Tech noticed her obvious objections and discomfort with the situation, and clearing his throat he spoke once more, "We'll…talk about this some other time."

--

"I don't get it?"

"Duck!" Lexi sighed as they walked through the hospital. The team had decided to make an appointment with a doctor to find out roughly when the baby was due, before they could decide what they would do next.

"Duck, it's simple." Tech began to explain again…for the fourth time, "A baby takes approximately nine months to develop, to the doctor works out nine months from…umm….you know, to the approximate date that the baby will be born. But it's never exactly accurate."

"Why-isn't-it-accurate-they're-doctors?" Rev voiced his thoughts. Tech gave the roadrunner a blank stare before sighing.

"Doctors as they are, Rev; they're not gonna always get everything right. And sometimes babies are born early or late, it's just an approximation."

"Yeah, well I think it should be more accurate than it is." Duck crossed his arms in annoyance as they each sat down in a seat in the correct ward, waiting to be called in.

"Why?" Lexi complained, she was becoming increasingly annoyed with the waterfowl.

"'Cause then I can make sure that I'm not with you when you go into labour, duh. I mean, no-one wants to be the one to be screamed at by a woman whose about to give birth!"

"garf ghol jigga know?" Slam asked, giving the mallard his classic confused stare.

"I don't know, Slam…" Duck said rather quietly, "I'm just guessing."

--

"This is Sooooooo boring!" Duck moaned as he slumped down in his seat.

"Well-that's-the sixth time he's complained in the last half hour…do you think I should find out what might be causing the hold up?" Rev suggested, eyeing his watch.

"Nah, Leave it Rev." Lexi sat up and changed position on the chair, "They got through everyone else…_eventually_." She looked around the now empty waiting room, "I'm sure they'll call us soon."

"Yeah. I guess." Rev flopped back down in his seat. "I'm just sick of sitting down, I need to stretch my legs!"

"Well, go for a walk." Ace suggested calmly, putting his arm around Lexi as she leaned into him.

"Good Idea. I'll be back soon!"

Lexi watched Rev as he left the waiting room and let out a sigh; she began to fiddle with the green ribbon that tied her ears together, which was now resting over her shoulder.

Ace noticed her movements, as well as her expression, and sat up, looking at Lexi in the eyes and speaking to her quietly. "Lexi, what's wrong?"

Lexi sighed and looked down, "I'm just…nervous. I mean, everything's happening really fast and…" She lowered her voice to the point where Ace could hardly hear her, "What if someone I know finds out, and then people back home hear about this and then my dad will like…_strangle _you…and the other guys for good measure!"

Ace gave her a reassuring smile, "Lexi, no one's gonna find out. Your family and friends are back in Utah, dat's miles away from here. Besides, we're gonna be really careful about da press, they won't find out…and if they do, we'll make sure dat they don't publish anythin'."

"Thanks, then." Lexi smiled, and leant up to kiss Ace on the cheek. She sat back calmly and spoke again, "Yeah, I guess you're right. How is anyone that I know from back home gonna find out I'm pregnant if we're all the way over here in Acmetropolis?" She smiled to herself.

Finally a door opened to the left of where the Loonatics were sitting, a young couple left the room holding hands and talking to each other happily.

Once the couple had walked a fair way down the corridor, Rev made his way back to the group. "So,-are-we-going-in-yet?"

"I guess…" Lexi was still eyeing the door, they couldn't see into the room, the open door obstructed their view, "…But the doctor hasn't called us in yet…"

The Loonatics waited patiently in their seats, Rev and Tech standing up after becoming bored with sitting, for roughly two minutes before finally the doctor made his way out of his room.

The tall, human, blonde haired doctor walked out of his room, "Ah, the Loonatics." He was eyeing his clipboard as he spoke, the group not exactly getting the opportunity to see his face.

The doctor finished looking through the medical documents, by this time all of the Loonatics had now stood up, the doctor placed his clipboard by his side. "I'm Doctor Mason…."

Lexi gave a small gasp and she stared at the Doctor, awe struck.

"I believe I'm here to see Lexi." He spoke with a warm smile.

Lexi couldn't help the tone of her voice as she let the name spill from her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Alex."

* * *


	25. Acceptance

**Umm...yeah, I can't tell you how sorry I am that this chapter has taken so long to write, I've had three projects to do, and because it's near the end of the school year here, the teachers suddenly think that no other teacher has set us homework, even though they have, so I end up getting a homework asignment for every lesson! So it's very stressful!**

**I must warn you in advance that there is _one_ swear word in this chapter, I thought I should at least warn people, rather than catch anyone off guard who would rather not read it, it's not distasteful and it doesn't make up the chapter's entirety - so it's nothing major, but I know how some people do not like swear words anyway!**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

"Alex." Lexi squeaked, she became tense as she stared up at the doctor before her, the rest of the assembled males giving her both concerned and puzzled looks.

Ace looked from Lexi to Alex; and back to Lexi again. He rested his hands on her shoulders; the touch making Lexi reluctantly turn her head towards her partner.

"Lexi, what's wrong?"

Lexi couldn't answer; she looked back up at Alex; who hesitated before clearing his throat and inviting the team to talk in his office rather than the waiting room where patients were beginning to stare.

As the rest of the team, and Alex, filed into the room, Ace looked to Lexi again, "Lex…you know him. Are you okay…was he…did he…how do you know him?"

Lexi sighed and gazed at the floor underneath her.

"Lexi…who is he?"

Lexi looked up at Ace, her eyes meeting his, she spoke in a quiet whisper, "He's Leah's older brother, and he's a friend from Utah." She left Ace where he was and walked into the room.

Ace stared into space for some moments, before face palming himself. '_Oh_ _brother_.' He thought as he walked into the room too.

--

"Well, it's great to see you again, Lex!" Alex smiled as he embraced his friend. Lexi could feel herself gripping onto him, whether it was to comfort herself, or whether it was her insecurities surfacing, she wasn't sure.

Alex stepped back after releasing his hold on the bunny and looked down at her, "But, in all honesty, I would have preferred to see you some time when you didn't have to be in a hospital, what's wrong?"

Lexi stared up at him, she tried to speak but as soon as she opened her mouth to do so, only a small breath escaped from the back of her throat. She shut her mouth, her eyes following suit, before hanging her head in shame. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at her feet.

Alex could sense that there was something wrong, something _really _wrong. "Umm...maybe you should all sit down…it, might make things easier." He gave Lexi a pitiful smile –not that she was able to notice it – she still hadn't looked up. Ace put his hands on her shoulders and guided her over to one of the small chairs in the room. He sat her down, and stood close by her.

Tech glanced back from the two bunnies, to the doctor, who stood before everyone, he sighed before speaking. "Umm…Doctor _Mason_….you…you've gotta…_understand _that this is probably gonna be difficult for Lexi to say…she almost broke down telling _us._"

Alex looked at Tech, now becoming increasingly concerned for the well being of his long-time friend and he braced himself mentally – readying himself for the apparent shockingand possibly frightening news.

Lexi looked at Alex, he was seated opposite her, and she made eye contact with him briefly, before hanging her head and staring at the floor. "Umm…Alex…I…I" She took a deep breath and spoke quietly, not wanting to look at him either, "I'm pregnant."

All of the male Loonatics' eyes landed on Alex, who seemed to be at a loss for words upon what he just heard. He looked distraught – his kind and understanding, face became pale, and his knowledgeable; and trusting eyes were wide with shock.

Lexi glanced up at her friend for a brief moment, before sighing, and allowing her gaze to meet the floor once more.

Alex stood up after a moment of thought, he faced the wall – not making eye contact with anyone – before he slowly turned his head to face Lexi; he spoke to her softly. "I…I'm guessing that it wasn't planned?"

Lexi slowly lifted her head to face him, "No." She simply said, but her voice was shaking as she spoke. The rest of the assembled group noticed this.

"So…do you know what you're going to do?"

Lexi made eye contact with Alex once, before she hastily moved her gaze to the floor, she didn't want to see his face anymore – she felt awful, he was her friend, and now for him to see her like this – and to know what was wrong, made everything all the more difficult for her to respond to his queries.

She shook her head slowly, her eyes never focussing on anything other than the floor underneath her.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, he opened his mouth to speak, and some stuttered words came out, he closed his mouth again, obviously correcting his answer.

"Well…are you gonna keep it, or…y'know, there is the alternative…"

"No." Lexi interrupted him sternly, taking everyone else by surprise – they weren't expecting her answer to be so fervent.

"…Lexi, what do you mean?" Ace spoke to her calmly, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I mean," Lexi started, she looked up into his eyes, "I don't want to get rid of it." Her voice lowered in volume as she spoke.

Ace furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her, "What? What do…what do you mean?"

"I…," Lexi shut her eyes in annoyance, "I just don't want to get rid of it, okay?" She reopened her eyes and stared at Ace, "I…I just can't, it's not fair…"

Ace nodded his head, he understood how she felt, plus he knew that such an act could lead to problems - she might not be able to have children again. Also, some part of him had felt the urge to do whatever it took for his child to not be destroyed – whether it was in its early stages of development or not – it was still a living organism.

The bunnies turned back to the doctor. Alex still looked as though he was trying to get to grips with the situation. He let out a sigh before standing up, and walking to a cupboard.

When he came back, there was a small rectangular box in one of his hands, he walked over to Lexi and handed it to her.

Lexi studied the box before looking back up at him, "A…pregnancy… tester?" She said quietly, raising an eyebrow. "But…I've already taken two, surely that's a sign that there is something in there."

Alex gave her a pitiful smile and nodded, "I know, and I'm sorry. But it's a…_formality, _we have to have positive confirmation, I don't know why – I think it's a waste anyway, but…I'm sorry, Lexi, you have to."

Lexi slowly nodded and looked down, fiddling with the small box in her hands for a moment, before standing up and looking around. "Uhh…"

"Oh, bathroom's through that door." Alex pointed to a door at the end of the room.

Lexi looked back at him awkwardly, "That's not one of those ones where you can…you know, hear…like…_everything._ Leah's told me about them – she said they're awkward, especially for the patient who has to use them."

Alex smiled, "Nah. You're okay."

Lexi gave a small nod in acknowledgement before she turned from the group, walked across the room, and entered the bathroom.

Alex, who had watched her go, now frowned and sat down in the chair that he was seated in earlier, Ace also sat in the vacant seat which Lexi had been occupying.

Alex held his head in his hands before speaking, "So…how'd this…happen?"

Duck scoffed before replying, "You're the doctor, surely you should know all of the technicalities – even I know!"

Ace gave the waterfowl a displeased look before turning back to the doctor, "I'm not sure…it was…_unexpected _it just…kinda…happened." Ace rubbed the back of his head in awkwardness, not making eye contact with anyone.

"So you didn't use protection?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Ace slumped his shoulders, his body language telling the rest of the group the answer, to save his reputation Ace quickly spoke again, "But believe me, I would've!"

He saw the cold look that Alex gave him, Ace gulped and continued.

"She's my best friend, _and_ girlfriend. You can't honestly t'ink dat I would want to put her through all of dis on purpose? Like I said, it just…_happened_. If I had known what was comin', of course I would have done somet'in' to prevent dis! Or at least asked her if she was sure, and dat …you know, it wasn't da time of da month where she was the most…" He looked up, trying to think of the right word, he sighed when he couldn't find the word he wanted, "…fertile."

"So, are you gonna say the same thing to her family?" Alex raised an eyebrow, and spoke rather coldly to the male rabbit.

Ace looked taken aback by his question, "I hadn't planned on it…" He mumbled, "I don't know." He sighed in defeat, "What are they like?"

"Protective. That pretty much sums it up. And, in a situation like this, I don't know who would be worse, her dad, or her four older brothers. I think her mum and sisters would be more…_surprised_, but they wouldn't act as…_hostile _as the guys would."

"Great." Ace sighed. "But what about da whole...you know, doctor, patient confidentiality t'ing?"

Alex momentarily diverted his eyes as Lexi approached, but he turned back to Ace, understanding that his friend had heard Ace's question, "There is that. But would you honestly not tell them about this?"

Lexi handed Alex the tester and leant on Ace's chair, holding his hand, "Actually…we were kinda hopin' _not_ to tell them…at least not while there's da whole pregnancy t'ing going on…" Ace spoke quietly, suddenly feeling very foolish. He looked up at his girlfriend, "Right, Lex?"

Lexi looked from him to Alex, she spoke quietly, "Actually, Ace. Maybe…maybe we should tell them, they need to know."

Ace stood up at her comment, and looked at her in the eyes, "What?"

"Ace, we can't hide this. They'd just be more upset if they found out and they knew we hadn't told them."

"But what about…your…"

"Oh forget my dad and brothers. It's about time my dad realises that he can't control my life, and that _things _are gonna happen!"

"But won't they be…mad?"

Lexi held her arm, "Well…yeah. But I'll make sure that they don't…_strangle_…you, this whole mess is my fault anyway." She looked down as she spoke.

Ace was about to answer when Alex spoke first, "Umm, Lexi. I'm sorry, but, I guess it's third time _un_lucky in this scenario." He looked up from the tester, to Lexi.

Lexi nodded and hugged herself. Ace wanted to do something to make her feel better, but she already moved past him and sat down in the seat that the two had been _'sharing'._

"Look, Lexi. If it helps, I'll come over…when you tell your folks….at least that way I might be able to make sure they're not too rough on you."

"Yeah." Lexi sighed, she watched as her foot circled the floor underneath her. "At least I'll get to see them again?" She smiled weakly before turning to Ace, "And…your parents…"

Ace felt a wave of horror run through him, he forgot about his parents and his uncle and cousin, how would they feel about this. He knew that they probably would be a little bit less…hostile than Lexi's parents. Purely because he was their son, and nothing would be happening to him that would be painful and hard, like it would be to Lexi – he understood that her father and brothers especially, wouldn't like that idea, especially because that also meant that some stranger (to them) had been 'fooling around' with their daughter, or sister. '_This won't be good' _Ace thought sorrowfully.

--

"…So, nine months from (and including) May is…January. So, January the sixteenth, approximately, is when it's due." Alex said, still putting on a weak and pitiful smile, he had always seen grins on the faces of previous couples when he had told them news like this, and he could easily smile – without having to fake one – but now, with the Loonatics, there was no happiness, just _acceptance _and some sadness. And it pained Alex to see them, especially Lexi, in such sorrow. He wished he could do something to stop all of this from happening, but there was nothing he could do – or at least there was nothing that could be done that Lexi would comply to.

"So, does this mean no…air travel or anything?" Tech asked.

Alex looked over at the Coyote, "Well usually we say that there's no air travel allowed during the first and third trimester – so the first and last three months of the pregnancy – but considering the kind of things you guys do…I wouldn't be too comfortable with that. If my opinion counted in this matter, I would say that Lexi shouldn't really be going on any missions. It could be dangerous."

Tech nodded his head, "Okay." He looked to Ace and Lexi, Ace looked sadly down at Lexi, and he knew that she wouldn't like the idea of being home alone whenever they went on missions, but he also had a look of understanding that that was the most sensible thing to do.

Lexi merely looked at the floor, Tech understood that inside she felt upset and just didn't want to show it – and he was sure that he could see tears welling up in her eyes – but, like Ace, there was some acceptance in the matter. She knew that her job would temporarily not be for aiding the Loonatics in battle, but for keeping the child inside of her safe by all means. It was the powerful maternal instinct that all women had – which Tech had always admired.

"And..." Duck spoke now, "It's just the usual kind of thing; don't stand too close to microwaves…yada yada yada…"

"Yeah." Was all Alex replied with.

They all stood up, Alex shaking the hands of the male Loonatics, "And Lexi, you'll receive notification about any ultrasounds, and you can call to arrange a date and time when the notice arrives."

"Okay." Lexi nodded her head, "Thanks, Alex." She smiled and hugged him, he returned the embrace.

"And remember," He said, when the two had released each other, "Call me, and I'll come over, If you have any problems, and make sure you tell me when your family comes."

"I will." Lexi smiled, her voice breaking slightly.

The six Loonatics filed out of the door just as Alex's pager beeped, and he quickly ran out of the room, he shouted "Good bye!" as he jogged down the corridor, obviously the message he received was that a patient was experiencing life threatening problems.

--

"Sooo…" Ace started as he and Lexi walked into his room to talk, "January"

"…The sixteenth…" Lexi finished, staring at the ground.

Ace noticed her gaze, and turned to her, resting his hands on her shoulders; the action making her look up at him. "Look…Lexi, we'll be alright. We just have to t'ink positive. I mean, think about it," He looked down at her abdomen, "We're gonna have a baby!"

Lexi moved out of his grasp and sat down on his bed, "Yeah, but you don't have to carry it around with you for nine months, AND give birth to it." She looked up at him, sadness showing in her eyes.

Ace came and sat down next to her, "You're…scared, aren't you?" He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.

"And you're not?" She snapped, looking up at him with fear in her eyes.

Ace bit his lip, "Look…Lexi, I am."

She looked back at him, waiting for him to explain his concerns over their current predicament.

"I mean, dat time – a while back, do you remember we had dat conversation…"

"Huh?"

"Da one about kids…?"

Lexi looked up in thought, trying to remember…

**

* * *

**

"…_.Yeah…" Ace didn't seem as though he was listening. Lexi noticed this and sat up, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Ace, what's wrong?"_

"_Nothin'. It's just dat, would you…would you ever… you know, want to have kids?" Ace looked at Lexi thoughtfully._

_Lexi looked taken aback. "Whoa! Umm…Well, I don't know…it, it's weird. And we don't really need to be thinking about this kind of thing now I mean, we're only dating."_

_Ace pressed on. "Yeah well you know, have you ever considered it?"_

"_Well, I don't really actually know why people could bring themselves to have kids." Lexi looked apprehensive. "I mean, for one it's carrying round a ball of squishy gooey…life in your abdomen for nine months and having to deal with all the crap that comes with pregnancy, and then there's the whole giving birth thing…I mean, I don't know about you…But to me it seems… really painful." Ace smirked at her little rant but let her continue. "And then there's the whole, Life thing again. I mean it's screaming, pooping, hungry, crying… life. I've always been scared of that; you know…what if you do something wrong?"_

_Ace hugged her. "You're right; we don't need to be thinkin' of dis kind of t'ing now. Don't worry about it."_

_Lexi pulled away from his embrace. "What about you? Have you ever thought about that?"_

_Ace hesitated, "Yeah a few times. You know, when you see couples with babies' dey all seem to look so happy. And you always wonder if it could ever be the same for yourself, but with us…I don't know…I mean, don't get me wrong, I t'ink we'd make great parents but…It would be…difficult." He sighed, and dropped his gaze, staring down at the bed sheets in a motionless gaze._

_Lexi looked at him with pity. "…Yeah…" She too looked down, but only briefly. She leant forwards and kissed him, playfully pushing him back as she did so._

_**

* * *

**_"Ohhhhh, that conversation!" Lexi said out loud, Ace gave her an amused look, before turning serious again.

"Yeah. Lexi, I had always liked da idea of havin' a kid, you know, it would be…I don't even know how to describe it, but da feeling dat you've created life must be…"

"…Amazing." Lexi sighed.

"Yeah. And then you get to teach it stuff, watch it grow up and see what he or she will accomplish through life, and whatever they manage to do, you would always feel proud of them. And, I like dat thought."

"Yeah." Lexi smiled, thinking about what he had just said.

"But, Lexi." Ace sighed, "I had always imagined dat if I ever did have a kid..." He looked at her in the eyes, "It would be…after marriage. Y'know? I mean, now…you and I are…_dating, _I mean_, _yeah it feels like more than dat, but still."

Lexi looked up at him quickly, slight anger in her eyes, "What's _that _supposed to mean? Are you ashamed that we 'did it'? 'Cause in the long run, Ace. You can pull out of this whenever the hell you want, but I can't. Ace, I'm stuck with it, either I keep it, and look after it for the rest of my life, or I get rid of it before it's too late and feel completely…_shitty _about myself!"

Ace looked back at her, "Lexi, I'm not gonna bail on you! Sure I had pictured somet'in' like dis…and truthfully it _was _a little different, but it doesn't mean I don't care. I…I can't even believe dat you would even t'ink that I wouldn't take care of dis!"

"How can you take care of this, Ace?" Lexi's voice was less harsh than previously, partially because she was now crying.

"Lexi I…"

"No Ace," She sniffed, "Right now, there physically is _nothing_ you can do to help me. What's happening to my body can't be stopped. And no one from the outside can change that." She wiped away some tears with her wrists before continuing, "Ace, I know you want to help, and I know you'll try to help in every way that you can, but face it. You can't, not until it's born anyway – and by then, it wouldn't matter anyway!"

"Lexi yes it will matter!" Ace spoke loudly, causing the female to jump in surprise, noticing this, Ace lowered his voice when he spoke again, "Lexi, of course it will matter. Wha…what do you mean…why do you t'ink dat it won't?"

Lexi sniffed again, and felt more tears welling up in her eyes, "Ace…what…what made you like me?"

"What?"

"What made you…_want _to go out with me?"

Ace raised his eyebrows in surprise and took in a deep breath before speaking, "Lexi, it was…it was because ever since we first met I liked you, and when I got to know you more, I felt that it was almost as if we were made for each other." He took her hands in his as he spoke, "Why?" He asked softly.

Lexi turned away from him, "You…will…will you still think of me like that even when I'm…huge?"

"Lexi" He continued to speak softly to her, he wiped away some tears with his thumb, and moved her hair out of her eye, "I don't care what you look like on da outside, as long as it's still you on da inside. I only want da Lexi that I've fallen in love with, no one else."

"So you wouldn't…ditch me, just because I would be…heavily pregnant, moody and sick?"

Ace smiled at her, "of course not."

"Good."

--

"Oh my god."

--

"Oh My God"

--

"Oh my god"

--

"Oh my – Ouch!"

"Okay, Slam – Pay-up. I-told-you-Tech-would-stop-meditating-if-Duck-kept-saying 'Oh-my-god' every-two-minutes!"

Slam grumbled and gave the fast talking bird a five dollar bill, crossing his arms in annoyance.

Tech stood up and walked over to the sofa, Duck for an unknown reason had 'Broken' since realising what had become of Lexi, and could not break out of his trance, nor get over the matter.

In annoyance, the desert canine had tried to clear his head, both from the annoying bird's continuous speech, and the stress of the current situation with Lexi.

"You guys bet?" Tech asked as he sat down on the sofa, looking at Rev and Slam in confusion.

"Yep!" Rev chirped. "You-see, we-both-knew-that-Duck-was-gonna-get -annoying,-and-boy-did-he-may-I-add,-so-we-remembered-that-it-only-seemed-to-be-Duck's-annoying-ring-tone-that-could-distract-you-from-meditation,-so-I-bet-against-Slam-that-Duck-talking-would-also-distract-you,-whereas-he-didn't-think-so. And-obviously-since-you-threw-the-TV-remote-at-him….I'm-guessing-he-did." Rev smiled.

It took Tech a moment to interpret what his fast talking friend had just said; he simply nodded when he had deciphered the speech.

Duck finally seemed to 'wake up' and return to reality, "So, can you guys believe it? Lexi's pregnant! I mean, I actually think it's hilarious that she – the one who could do no wrong, just because she's the only female on the team, the one who never had to carry around heavy stuff, the one who never had to cook for us despite the fact that she's a woman – is pregnant! And, Ace, our leader, who is constantly telling me off for breaking the rules, was the one who knocked her up in the first place!" Duck smiled smugly and crossed his arms.

"Duck," Tech sounded mad, "A piece of advice for you, if you'd like to stay alive – DON'T mention that to either of them, got it?"

Duck nodded meekly, he was surprised that the normally 'mellow' member of the team was suddenly so aggravated by the Duck's comment.

"And no." Tech sighed, "I can't believe it either." He rubbed his eyes as he spoke, "I mean, she's gonna need a lot of support from all of us, and I feel sorry for her. I mean, she's only nineteen, that's pretty young."

"Yeah, but I've seen a lot of women younger than her carrying babies around. Somehow nowadays, I think the age she's got pregnant at would be considered 'old'. I mean, it was only in the news last week about that girl who threw everything away because she got pregnant."

"Yeah," Tech sighed, "Apparently she had good grades, she had a promising future, she wanted to be an Astrophysicist, and she was only what…fifteen?"

"fourteen." Rev sighed, "Sometimes-I-wonder-why-girls-do-that, y'know? Why-do-they-throw-away-everything,-why-not-stay-pure-until-marriage,-or-at-least-until-they-find-the-right-guy?"

"Yeah well, it takes two to tango, remember, Rev." Tech reminded the bird, "It's the guy's fault too." He looked down at the ground thoughtfully, "At least we know that Ace and Lexi will stay together through this, I mean, it's not like Ace is gonna walk away and leave Lex to suffer, I mean, of course he wouldn't; besides, I certainly won't let him!"

"Yeah." Rev smiled, "But-you're-right-Tech, it-will-be-hard-on-her, I-mean,-she's-gonna-have-to-go-through-all-of-that-painful-stuff, and-she'll- be-pregnant-for-a-long-time, and…you-know…the-kid's-forever…" He trailed off after he realised this.

"Well I can't believe they're gonna get their parents involved, I mean, talk about awkward!"

"Yeah well, Duck, they can't just hide it," Tech looked at Duck, "their parents need to know, they deserve to."

"Yeah, but I don't want to be around when they come." Duck widened his eyes as he verbalised his next thought, "I mean, we've all heard what Lexi's dad's like…somehow I don't think he'll _just _be mad at Lex….he'll be mad at us too"

"ghrksf sfsjfks snfsf Bad!" Slam grunted, annoyed, he slouched in position and rested his head in his hands.

"Yeah, it will be bad, Slam." Duck patted the Tasmanian devil on the shoulder, "But think about Ace I mean, that will be hilarious!" Duck laughed at the thought of his leader being intimidated by Lexi's father.

"Oh yeah Duck, won't that just be _hilarious_." Lexi commented sarcastically as she walked into the room holding Ace's hand.

Ace gave a displeased look at Duck, "Could you guys at least even _act _supportive!?"

"Sorry, Chief." Tech replied, standing up and walking over to the two rabbits, "But we'll help," He glanced back at the rest of the team, "…Or at least _I _will." He smiled at the couple.

--

"Lexi, everyt'in's gonna be fine." Ace spoke softly as he moved some stray hairs out of her eyes.

It was late, the clock read 23:36, the Loonatics had long since departed to go to bed, Ace and Lexi were in Ace's room, once again talking about their current predicament. Lexi lay under the covers while Ace sat on the bed next to her, he was positioned roughly in line with her hip, to the right hand side of her, looking down at her as they spoke.

"No it's not, Ace." Lexi furrowed her eyebrows sorrowfully, "_This_ is _not_ okay, _I_ am _not_ okay. I don't think I've ever been this frightened before, Ace; and you _know_ I've been in bad situations before, but this, this is the worst. Ace, I, I'm _terrified_!" Tears were visibly leaving her eyes, giving her eyes a bright sparkle to them, which was still easy to see in the darkened room – the light from Ace's bedside lamp helping the two bunnies to see each other.

Ace frowned; the sparkles that were present in her eyes were not the ones he wanted to see, easily because they were wet with tears, and not happiness or love like they normally were.

He sighed, and he quickly submerged his hands underneath the darkness of the bed sheets to find Lexi's hands, and pulled them out from underneath the blankets and held them in his own hands which he rested on his lap.

"Lexi you don't need to be scared," He said softly, "I'm here, I'll always be here, I'm not going anywhere, you're not alone in dis – you'll never be."

Lexi gave him a weak smile, "Yeah well, that's comforting to know." She smiled properly, an idea forming in her head. She smiled at him and bit her lip.

"What?" Ace smirked at her.

"What's the point in being miserable?" The question was rhetorical, as she immediately pulled Ace down and kissed him before he had the chance to question her, he joined in almost instantaneously.

When they parted to breathe, Ace's face remained close to her own so that the two were close enough that they could stare into each other's eyes.

They were close enough now that Ace was easily able to whisper into Lexi's ear, what he had said made her smirk and bite her lip as she stared up at him and slightly nod her head, Ace smiled back at her and reached over to turn off the bedside lamp so that all was dark in the room, before he leant down to kiss her again…

* * *


	26. Nightmares

**Wow, I'm actually surprised about how quickly I wrote this chapter!**

**Anyway...for once I can't think of anything else to say...**

**Enjoy!**

**EDIT: THE SONG THAT'S FEATURED *BRIEFLY* IN THIS CHAPTER IS 'ANTHEM OF OUR DYING DAY' BY STORY OF THE YEAR**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Lexi sat at home, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor underneath her; she sat on the sofa in the main room, blankly gazing out of the window, her left hand resting on her swelled belly.

She sighed and looked down at herself, a lot had changed in the few months since she had first discovered that she was pregnant, the guys were being a lot more helpful and Duck was hardly ever rude or mean to her like he used to be.

She smiled to herself, her friends really did care, they were doing a lot for her, and she always sat and thought about how she could repay them for their troubles after the baby was born, she often pondered what she could do for each of them, while she was awaiting their return home from yet another mission.

But not today

Today she felt different, she worriedly bit her nails, they had been gone for longer than normal, and this was beginning to worry her.

She didn't move from her position, she never turned her head away from the panoramic window which looked out over the city, she never moved an inch from the sofa, and she never even turned her head at the sound of a creak coming from another area of the tower.

She only waited

She didn't want to miss seeing them come home, where relief would flood through her and encase her in the feeling of pure happiness that they were all okay.

She fidgeted, and became anxious, but the concerns that were beginning to mount up in her brain were dissolved away when she heard the sound of the hanger doors opening. Nothing else could open those doors except for the Loonatics – Tech especially, the tower was always on a firm lockdown whenever they were out, and now especially since Lexi was home-alone and vulnerable to attack.

Lexi considered getting up and greeting them, but she knew that they would be with her momentarily.

She knew that Ace would come down the corridor hastily, smile as he walked into the main room, say her name in pure happiness to see that she was okay, jump over the sofa and stand in front of her, embrace her – picking her up and twirling her around as he did so, before setting her down and kissing her before asking her if she was okay.

Lexi smiled at the thought and eagerly turned her head towards the entrance to the main room, waiting to see him come in.

She could hear footsteps coming down the corridor, they were Ace's, and they had to be. She could tell what their walks were like by sound, what noise their feet made when they walked through the narrow passageway, Ace and Tech's were always a little bit difficult to determine, the two were of similar build to each other, only Ace was slightly more muscular.

Her heart leapt in anticipation and suddenly time seemed to slow down as she waited for him to emerge, but she couldn't ignore the throbbing that she felt in her heart, a sudden feeling of terror which engulfed her and made her gasp loudly and clutch her chest.

She heard Ace pause, obviously hearing her sudden intake of breath, his walk quickened and soon she heard the sound of four pairs of feet hastily walking towards her location.

_Four_ pairs of feet

The throbbing continued and spread throughout her chest, the agonizing pain seeping through her like a chilling breath on a cold day, her stomach felt giddy and her legs shook.

She felt a stabbing pain in her gut, and it burnt. It was like fire, it throbbed and stung and pulled and pushed within her, she winced and her breathing became heavy and she squinted in pain and looked up in front of where she was sitting; to see the man who had hurt her in Utah three years ago.

His face was cruel and dark and threatening, but she couldn't see his eyes, his unfeeling, uncaring eyes that had haunted her for weeks after the attack, it was as if the sun was directly behind him and his form was silhouetted in front of her so that his features were concealed from her vision.

But it wasn't possible

The sun shouldn't be directly in front of her, she was facing east, it was 7:00 pm, the sun was beginning to set, and it should be behind her, to the west where it belonged at such a time.

Why was the sun in the wrong place?

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, still desperately holding herself together, questions flooded through her mind, all racing so fast that she could barely acknowledge one before another would come to mind. Why were the guys taking so long to get to her? Why was the sun in the wrong place? Who was the man standing in front of her? How did he get in?

What was happening?

She looked up at the man, her eyes pleading for help, for her throat was now dry with fear, she blinked – her eyes now too becoming dry, the inhibition of her Lacrimal Gland was one of the first signs of the body's fight or flight response to stress, and she could feel herself shaking with fear as she folded her legs up to her chest in an attempt to hold herself together, and to protect the baby's life within her.

As she blinked, the man in front of her changed, his form rapidly transforming in front of her dry eyes, suddenly he fit the description of the villain that the male Loonatics had gone to fight that day.

But what was behind him made bile rise from her stomach and up to her throat, delaying any chance for her to scream and make her danger known to her friends.

Behind the man was a body.

Suddenly he and the body disappeared, the haunting image melted away just as quickly and swiftly as it had arrived, and the room returned to normal, and the male Loonatics finally entered the room.

Four of them

Their faces all bore the same expressions; Concern, concern for the well being of their friend who seemed to be in agonizing pain, and sadness; Sadness because of what they had just recently lost.

_Who_ they had just recently lost

The sight made Lexi's heart skip a beat as her eyes scanned the faces of the assembled males, she checked again, and again, and again.

Tech, Duck, Rev, Slam

Tech, Duck, Rev, Slam

Tech, Duck, Rev, Slam

Tech, Duck, Rev, Slam

Her body fell limp and she collapsed onto the floor in front of her, her eyes were now wet with fresh salty tears that stung her tongue when they entered her mouth. She leant on her hands and knees, her limbs shaking and threatening to give way, she didn't have the strength to even support the weight of her own beaten body.

The four anthros in front of her stood and watched her in sorrow as she felt another spasm of pain erupt from her stomach and chest as she let out an anguished cry…

That was the first night since joining the team that Lexi had woken up screaming.

Ace's bedroom door burst open as Tech, Rev, Slam and Duck ran into the room, they looked over at Lexi in shock, her eyes were wide with fear, and a piercing scream was still erupting from her throat.

Ace sat next to Lexi, his hands on her cheeks, trying to get her to stop screaming and find out what was wrong with her, with no luck he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, he picked up her legs and lay them across his lap as he sat her down on his leg, cradling her as he would do for a child.

He rocked her back and fourth gently, one hand resting on her back, securing her to him, while the other rested on the back of her head, allowing her to bury her head in his chest.

Eventually she quietened, and now the sound of her muffled sobbing against Ace's chest could be heard by all, along with her shaky breaths.

Ace held her in that same position for a while, his shoulder becoming wet with tears, but he didn't let that bother him, he was too concerned with Lexi to care about himself.

The other Loonatics sat on the edge of the bed, waiting, they were concerned for their friend, and they also wanted an explanation into what was wrong with her.

For the next few minutes that passed there was silence in the room, the male Loonatics all becoming drowsy through the sleep deprivation which they were all sharing, but none of them wanted to leave, not without making sure that Lexi was okay.

The clock had reached 02:43 by the time Ace had decided to ask Lexi what was wrong, he hadn't felt her cry in a while, but her breathing hadn't settled and so he had continued to hold her in his arms until now.

He could hear no shaken in-drawn breaths, no new wetness on his shoulder, nor the trembling of her arms and legs.

He spoke gently to her, rubbing her back in circular motions, "Lexi…Lex, you okay, now?" He rested his head on hers; inhaling the flowery scent of her hair while he waited for an answer.

He shifted uncomfortably, the action was small and went unnoticed by the rest of the team, when he felt Lexi grip onto the fur on his chest, pulling it sharply, but he knew that it was an accident because he immediately felt her rest her hand on that spot, trying to relieve the pain he felt.

Duck silently gestured that he was tired and that he was going back to bed, he looked back at Lexi a few times as he was making his departure, maybe checking that she was okay so that he had peace at mind when he slept. Slam soon followed afterwards.

After watching them go, Tech and Rev turned back to the bunny couple, Lexi still hadn't answered Ace's original question and Tech surmised that maybe it was because of their presence. He announced his departure, and motioned for Rev to leave the room too, reluctantly the bird followed, looking back over his shoulder at Lexi, like Duck had done, he finally set his gaze on the floor as he walked through the doorway and back to his room; the doors shut behind him.

Ace felt a sigh of relief escape from his mouth, he was glad that they were gone, somehow he felt very uncomfortable with them being there…especially after what he and Lexi had been up to that night.

Lexi pulled her head away from Ace's shoulder and looked around, checking that the other members of the team were gone, she looked up at Ace with an apologetic look on her face as she brushed her hand across his cheek.

Ace caught her hand and held it in his own, looking down at her, "Lexi…what happened, you were screamin'?"

"Sorry…" Lexi replied looking down, she then caught site of what she was wearing; one of Ace's old shirts which covered the areas which she wanted to be concealed, but she still didn't like the size of it on her – it barley reached the middle of her thigh. She groaned, and flopped back on the bed.

"What?" Ace asked her, puzzled over her strange behaviour, he looked at her with concern, and her behaviour certainly was strange.

Lexi spoke without sitting up or opening her eyes, "Did the guys see me like this?" She gestured to the shirt she was wearing.

"Yeah…" Ace gave her a guilty smile and crawled over to her, "But somehow I don't t'ink they cared about dat as much as they were concerned about you, Lex."

Lexi sat up, "Yeah, I guess…" She sighed, "Ace, I'm sorry for waking you up…I probably gave you a fright…"

Ace gave her a pitiful smile, "Hey, don't worry Lex," He pulled her over to him and hugged her, "what happened?"

Lexi looked down and then back up at Ace, "It sounds silly, but, I had a nightmare…"

"Lexi, that's nothin' to get ashamed of, everyone gets them, and I have loads of times"

"Yeah," Lexi sighed, "but this one was awful, everything was so vivid and it seemed so real, even the pain I felt in the dream felt real."

Ace looked at her, trying to determine what the nightmare had been about, "Lex, by any chance, was dis dream about you givin' birth to…"

"No, Ace" Lexi sighed, "It was much worse. In the dream, I was pregnant, but you guys had gone on a mission, so I was alone, and then…I had this weird feeling that something bad had happened, and I could hear you guys coming back from the hanger…but there were only four pairs of feet," She looked up at him, tears gathering in her eyes, "Ace…the man who…who, the man from back in Utah…the one I told you about…"

Ace looked down at her, he furrowed his eyebrows angrily when he realised who she was talking about, "Yeah…_him._"

"He was in the dream, and I was just so scared, and the pain…the pain, it was unbearable, but it was nothing that he had done, and I remember…then he transformed into a different person…"

"What you mean, just…he just _changed_?"

"Yeah. I could only see his silhouette, but then he changed, and the person he turned into was whoever you guys had gone out to fight in the mission, the mission from the dre…nightmare."

Ace could tell that she was beginning to get upset, and so he guided her down so that she was lying in bed, he pulled the blankets up and lay down next to her, kissing her on the cheek.

Lexi fiddled with the sheets before she spoke, "And…And then…the image of the man just went…oh, but there was a body next to him, and then he and the body just disappeared…and…and then the guys finally came…but it was only them…" She started to cry, "You weren't there, Ace. It wasn't clear…but…but I think in…in the dream you…you…" She whispered the final word, "Died…"

Ace gave her a thoughtful, concerned look. He reached over to pull her closer to him so that her head rested by his shoulder, he sighed, trying to think of the right way to respond to _that _while Lexi gripped the sheets which covered her, and pushed herself further against him. Ace put his arm around her and fiddled with her hair for a while.

"Lexi" He finally spoke, he sat up and looked down at her, rubbing her arm softly as he spoke, "Don't be frightened, it was just a dream, and I can see where it came from…"

Lexi looked up at him in confusion, "How – what do you mean?"

"Well, we were talkin' about pregnancy, you've found out when it's due, you know dat you'll have to stay home while we're on missions, maybe you've also been a bit frightened of da pain dat you'll go through when you deliver, and…I guess….maybe with what happened _last night_…what happened to you in Utah came to mind…" He trailed off as he spoke the last of his thoughts.

Lexi looked away, not making eye contact with him, "Ace…somehow…I don't think that the pain I was suffering during the nightmare was to do with me being worried about…_that _kind of pain…"

Ace raised an eyebrow, both out on intrigue and curiosity, "Well…what _do _you t'ink it could have been from?"

Lexi hesitated before replying, "I love you, Ace. And…to think that something like that might happen…I think that's why it hurt, Ace I can't live without you, right now, you seem to be the only thing that keeps me alive, I…I can't imagine being without you, it's like I never lived before knowing you..I…Ace…I…"

Ace smiled and pressed his lips against hers, he held the kiss for a few moments, before breaking away and staring at her, keeping his face close to hers, "Dat's all I need to hear tonight, Lex." He smiled at her before kissing her again.

--

The usually sunlit forest was bizarrely dark today. Whether that fact had something to do with it being evening and the sun was beginning to set, she wasn't sure.

Lexi walked along the invisible paths she knew of, through the forest, ever since her childhood there, she was always able to find her way out of the deepest part of the forest, her playful and adventurous character as a young girl had always aided her in finding her way around.

She jumped easily over logs and rocks, swung happily from branches over small blockages in the path she was travelling, all towards one place.

Home

Her home was only a mere two hundred or so metres away, and so she savoured every moment she could of her journey homewards, savouring the sound of dirt, twigs and dry leaves crunching under her feet, the fresh and warm scent of summer, the distant sounds of other people in her town, people who she knew, who she trusted.

It was only the missing sounds of bird activity which made her muse over why today felt different, why _she _felt different _now._

She continued up the small sloped area of forest which leads up to a clearing, and then a small road before she would reach her house. She smiled as she found a familiar tree, a tree which, when climbed, felt like she could see everything around her.

She walked over to it, placing her hand over its deep brown, strong trunk, she reached up and found a sturdy branch, gripping it with both hands she easily swung herself up, using her feet to climb up the trunk of the tree, so that she had some power from her legs aiding her, rather than just her arms.

Sitting up on the sturdy branch which had aided her in first getting into the tree, she easily stood up, her good balance allowing her to easily stand on the narrow branch without falling or wobbling.

She bent her legs and jumped up to the next branch and swung herself up, she repeated her method of ascending the huge tree until she reached the very top, where the branches became thinner.

Since her younger days of maybe six or seven, she had always known the correct way to climb up on the thinner branches, her brothers had always helped her when she was younger and was first learning how to climb them, they would always be ready to catch her if she fell; _when_ she fell.

They had always encouraged her, and given her advice about which branches would be the sturdiest, and eventually she was able to climb to the very tops of trees without assistance.

She loved the feeling of climbing, the feeling of power and acceleration and liberation. The adrenaline rush was always the best, when your foot slipped and you felt as though you would fall, but the immediate reaction when your reflexes would save you from injury, where you would be able to grab hold of something, anything, to prevent the fall.

Lexi carefully held two of the thinner branches with both hands, and quickly pulled herself up to the next, making sure that she spread her weight so that she wasn't weighing down on one branch, but it was evenly spread out so that there was less weight having to be supported by such a small tree limb.

Eventually she reached the top, and was finally able to lift her head above the canopy of green and stare out at the land she called home.

The forest wasn't as thick as it seemed when you looked at it almost from above, and it was easy to see small birds which walked around at the bottom, the breeze which suddenly hit her was warm and light, but it was enough to make her smile. She looked around her, the sky overhead, dotted with very small dissipating clouds, the amazing fiery colours of the sky, and the few birds which soared overhead were always what she loved to see when she looked above her.

Beyond the trees was what she loved the most, the massive orange-red sandstone, moulded and chiselled by the desert sand over thousands of years – the canyons of Monument Valley, Utah.

She smiled, this was home, and no-one, nothing, could take that away.

Sighing, she began her descent; flipping and swinging easily down from branch to branch until she reached the forest floor.

She began her walk back towards home, her pace quickening ever so slightly as she had lost out on time due to her tree climbing, and she knew how her dad could be.

Suddenly to her right, a dozen or so birds leaped into flight, squawking in alarm as they hastily flew away from the danger they evaded. Lexi looked in the direction that they had fled from in curiosity, she looked back ahead of her, and eyed her watch, and she had just enough time to investigate if she ran home instead of walking.

Years of playing in the forest helped in times like this, she was always excellent at moving silently through the forest, knowing exactly where to tread to avoid being heard by whoever she was stalking. She used to love jumping out at her brothers or friends and watching their surprised faces in amusement after she had successfully snuck up on them. And now, when she felt as though she may need that skill the most, she could use it effectively.

She still eyed the area that she was approaching; whatever had forced the birds into flight was out of her view due to two trees ahead of her. Occasionally she would glance at the ground beneath her, making sure that she wasn't about to step on a snake or a twig which could make her presence known to whoever, or whatever was beyond the two trees.

She finally reached the trees, and eyed her watch again, she still had time, but she had to be quick now. She carefully moved around behind the trees and ducked behind a bush, flattening her ears back behind her so that they were not visible over the top of the bush.

Quietly she leaned up, still keeping her ears behind her head, and looked over the top of the bushes. In a small clearing were three men of whom she couldn't recognise – the town was small, and everyone knew everyone, so these people must be tourists.

_Drunken _tourists

She could see bottles of alcoholic drinks on the ground near to where they were sitting, one of the men stood, drinking the remnants of his beverage, his stance was goofy and when he walked he stumbled, the speech of the men on the floor was slurred too.

Lexi grimaced, she shouldn't be there, they were dangerous, they were men that she didn't know, she was alone in the forest, there were three of them and one of her, they had bottles which they could use as weapons, and they were drunk.

She knew that they wouldn't be the types of people, especially in their current state, who would pick up their empty glass bottles, and she scowled at the thought that they would merely leave them there and leave in their own time. She turned to depart quietly, disgusted by their behaviour.

Lexi moved back with the same caution in by which she had approached, being even more wary for she knew that they were dangerous, the fact that they were drunk did mean that their senses wouldn't be a sharp as normal – but still – she didn't want to take any chances.

She continued on her way back to her house, moving quickly through the trees, dodging saplings and weaving her way through thorny bushes when she came across them, doing her best to move as quickly and as quietly as she could – using all of the short cuts which she could think of.

She reached the clearing in the trees, she only had a hundred or so more metres to go before she would just have to walk up the small road towards her house where she would be safe, she picked up her pace now, her fast walk becoming a jog, and after eyeing her watch again, turning her jog into a run.

She turned a corner, around a tree, where she gasped and stopped.

She held her breath and remained perfectly still, remembering how the eye, instinctively, was always drawn to moving things. What had caught her attention, was the sight of another man who she couldn't recognise, just behind a 'curtain' of leaves which hung down from a bent over sapling.

The sapling which marked the approximate one hundred metre mark from her house

She didn't have to guess that he was friends with the same men she had seen earlier, he was speaking on a mobile phone and looking around, his speech was slurred and an empty bottle was in his hands.

Lexi stayed absolutely still, right now she didn't care if she was late home, she didn't want that man to see her. The man was still looking around, and every now and then he would walk a few steps backwards, forewords or either side of him or hold his phone high in the air, obviously he couldn't get a good signal.

Lexi smirked, strangely only some phones received a good signal around here, and luckily most of the people in town had such phones where they were able to contact each other easily – without the frustration of having to try to find a signal.

The man was certainly taking his time, sober or not, he sure was dumb, he needed elevation if he wanted to get a better signal, not closeness or distance.

Lexi sighed in frustration, but maybe the sigh was too loud, as he immediately looked in her direction, peering through the small gaps in the leaves until he saw her. Lexi froze, she wasn't sure what to do, stay still and hope that he got bored, or make a run for it; but there was one problem with the second option, however.

He was blocking the way home

They continued to stare at each other for some time, maybe wondering if the other was real or not. Eventually the man gestured for her to come over to him, but Lexi was apprehensive, she didn't know the man after all.

"Come 'ere." He said, ushering her forward.

Somehow, and she wasn't sure why or how, Lexi found herself slowly walking towards him, the voice in the back of her mind screaming warnings at her '_Stop and turn around, at least get to a friends house rather than be alone with that man_.'

Lexi ignored the warning, and continued to walk ahead of her, the disappearing light making some stars visible in the darkening sky over head. She looked at him with intrigue, wondering who he was. Where had he come from? How did he get separated from his friends? Why did he leave them?

Why was he calling her forward?

Lexi stopped; finally her body seemed to receive the warning signals that her brain was vaulting through her body. She looked at him, she was no less than three metres away from him, her eyes widened as she realised how close he was to her, she didn't want to be this close to him, especially now.

She took a reluctant glance up at the sky, noticing how quickly it had gotten dark. It was like the sun had slipped from the sky and didn't have the chance to grip hold of something to keep its light shining on her earth for the amount of time she desired.

The amount of time she needed

The man was too looking up at the sky, wondering what was wrong with the confused girl ahead of him. Lexi looked back ahead, towards him, stealing a glance at her watch before he had returned his gaze to her.

Lexi knew that she was late home, the comfort in that was that her dad was so paranoid about her safety that he would probably send one of her brothers out soon to find her – or at least call her friends to find out if she was with them.

But that though hit her like a slap in the face, her friends, Leah, Alex, her sister's band-mates, her brothers' pilot friends, were all at her house for a barbeque.

All of them

There would be no worried phone calls to her friends, no concerned phone calls to her friends' parents, because they might be around her house too, and her family knew that she knew to come straight home after she had gone to give an oven dish back to her grandmother.

Lexi silently groaned in annoyance, the only person _now _who would be receiving a phone call was –

'_The stars will cry,_

_The blackest tears tonight_

_And this is the moment that I live for_

_I can smell the ocean air_

_Well hear I am_

_Pouring my heart onto these roofto-'_

Her

Lexi forced her hand into the pocket of her jeans, not daring to take her eyes off of the amused looking man in front of her, she hastily silenced the music playing – her ring tone- and looked at the caller ID.

***

INCOMING CALL

-THING 2-

_CHOCOLATE THUNDER!_

_(SAM)_

_***_

Lexi scowled, she and her sister had watched way too much of the '_The Cat In The Hat_' movie.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lexi noticed the man take a step towards her, Lexi's heart leapt, she cancelled the call pressing the 'hang-up' button on her phone, she shoved the item into her pocket, and turned to face him, her muscles tensing, ready to propel her into an adrenaline boosted sprint towards her home.

"Give it." He said, holding out his hand towards her, and taking another step.

Lexi took half a step back, "Give _what_?" She asked innocently, she had an idea that he was referring to her phone, but she didn't want to give it to him if it wasn't what he meant.

"The _phone" _He replied, annoyed.

Lexi took the item out of her pocket, glancing from it to him; she took a deep breath and bit her lip, before handing him her phone – her only means of contacting help.

He snatched the item out of her hand, Lexi quickly withdrawing her hand so that there were no easy ways which he could physically contact her. Her voice turned cold when she spoke to him, "_Why_? Why do you need it, you don't look like some common _thief"_

The man glared at her before he dialled a number into her phone, he lifted the device to his ear and waited for the person he was contacting to answer his call. He never took his eyes off of Lexi, feeling the pressure of his stare, combined with the fear she felt, Lexi didn't move. She remained where she was;

Cold

Vulnerable

Scared

Alone

He spoke loudly to the person who answered, making it quite obvious to Lexi that he wasn't in a rush to go anywhere; he kept glancing at her as he spoke, before hanging up the phone, and putting it in his pocket.

Lexi knew better than to demand that he give her the phone, and so she could only watch in sorrow as it disappeared from her sight, and her use.

He turned to her, a smile edging across his lips. The maniacal smile frightened Lexi, and she looked about herself, desperate to flee, but too afraid to. Instead she searched for something to defend herself with.

Like a miracle, she did notice a long stick, resting on a rock, it would be perfect, and it would be enough. She turned her attention back to the man, watching his sickening expression as he looked at her, her heart was pumping wildly through fear and she knew that she had to lead him closer so that she could lead him towards her 'trap'.

Looking terrified (which was easy because she felt terrified) she stepped back, testing him. He mimicked her movements, but taking another step towards her. She had to hold back a smile as she realised that her plan just might work, she led him back and stopped.

She remembered one of the flying moves that her brother Michael had once talked about, "_I just hit the breaks and he flew right by!" _She knew that she had to bring him in closer, and lull him into a false sense of security.

She made a face which looked like she had frozen in fear suddenly, and she immediately saw the flicker of confidence in the man's eyes as he took a larger step towards her…

…But obviously he had been expecting to see something other that a large stick hitting him square on the nose and forehead after Lexi had stamped down on one end which was resting on a rock, causing the other end to whip up and hit him, giving her the perfect opportunity to run. The man cursed as he rubbed his forehead and nose, silently vowing that he would find her, as he began to pursue her.

Lexi ran, quickly, carelessly and loudly. She didn't care if he heard where she was going, and she didn't care where she went to get to safety, all she knew was that she had turned in the opposite direction to her home, in a bid to give her more distance away form the man, running downhill was always easier than running uphill, she 'leap-frogged' over rocks and swung herself over branches as she ran, she knew she had to find someone's house, someone - anyone, who she could ask for help from and reach a phone from.

She could feel the wind running through her hair and fur, and the rush of excitement as the speed at which everything moved past her was blurred. The adrenaline rush gave her the necessary speed that she needed – usually she would love, savour and enjoy the feeling of freedom and speed, but not tonight.

Tonight she was running out of fear and not exhilaration, she had an idea of why he was so interested in her, and the thought made her sick.

She decided to turn around, and head home, realising that there was no point in her wasting energy to try and find a house in the direction she was travelling, she was getting close to 'the drop' anyway, and she didn't like the idea of falling from a large drop from a jutted out cliff – at night, with no one to help her or call for help – she didn't like that idea at all.

She circled around a tree, pressing herself against it to momentarily catch her breath, she needed to be silent when she passed back through, regardless of the fact that she wasn't going down the same 'path' as her pursuer, she wanted to be silent so that he didn't hear her.

But stopping to catch her breath did have one disadvantage, the adrenaline rush wore off, her body obviously felt that there was no need for her to run anymore and leave the danger, but her brain thought differently.

It was dark

It was quiet

_She_ was alone

_He_ was nowhere to be seen

She cursed and leant against the tree, sitting down at the base and curling herself up into a ball, staring up at the starry sky that she wished so desperately to be looking at from the comforts of her home – in her dad's company. She looked down again, not really wanting to think about her family – the mere thought almost reduced her to tears; but she refused to let herself cry. Panicking in this type of situation would do no good, she needed to keep calm, and that way she would think straight.

She stood up and strained her ears to listen for the sound of foot steps, but heard nothing. She wasn't sure if that fact was relieving or scarier. She began to lightly jog back, as she became more and more panicked; she broke into a run, not caring about the burning that she felt in her chest and legs.

She ran, and ran, and ran; the dark and intimidating world around her becoming a blur as she ran. She wasn't sure whether this was the speed she was running at earlier, or whether she would have normally been capable of running this fast, but right now she didn't really care, she needed to keep running.

"Uhh!" She grunted as she felt her body being slammed against a tree. She fell limp and fell onto her hands and knees, shaking with fatigue, pain and confusion.

Out of nowhere, her pursuer had found her and forced her into a tree. Lexi knew that she had to ignore the pain she felt, get up – off of the ground – and fight, or run.

She glared up at him as she clutched her aching shoulder, she stood up slowly and shakily, his image bouncing around in front of her eyes, like when you tried to focus on the horizon line from the view point of a rocking boat, she squinted and gasped as she took his image into her brain, he was there, in front of her, smiling; and blocking her escape.

He walked closer to her, uncomfortably close; And stared into her eyes, she knew she would never forget those eyes, those bright green eyes in the darkened atmosphere, that seemed to almost be sprinkled with red, but maybe she was just 'seeing red' from anger and fear.

She felt utterly helpless, and knew that he had won, and he knew it too. But she did have one more trick up her sleeve which came to mind just as fast as she had executed the plan.

She jumped up, grabbing hold of a branch, wincing in pain as her aching shoulder felt her weight on it, swung back, and kicked him, the force giving her enough momentum to swing forward and run.

But he grabbed her ankle as he fell

She fell onto her stomach, letting out a gasp of air, and pain, as she felt herself wheeze and pant for oxygen while her chest ached – like a fire was surrounding her lungs and heart.

She laid there, her tired eyes threatening to shut and draw her out of her conscious state and draw her into a world of peace.

But she didn't even have the strength for that

Somehow she managed to stay awake throughout the entire ordeal, her eyes wide with fear and pain, her mouth and throat dry, and whenever she tried to scream, only a creaking breath left her throat.

And that was where he left her when he was satisfied.

Cold

_Alone_

Terrified

_Alone _

Shaking

_Alone_

Helpless

_Alone_

Vulnerable

_Alone_

Angry

_Alone_…

Ace opened his eyes when he felt an arm around his middle squeeze tighter and tighter, and he tilted his head towards Lexi, feeling her wet tears against his chest and shoulder, and hearing her soft whimpering as she quietly cried in her sleep.

Ace sat up, making sure that she stayed still and didn't notice his movement, he watched her for some time, his eyes never staying from her tense facial expression, his ears never picking up the sounds of anything other than her whimpering.

He frowned at the pitiable sight and knew that he should take her out of her dream world; obviously it was making her upset.

He leant down and brushed some hair out of her eyes and gently rubbed her shoulder, softly calling out her name, gradually making his voice louder when she didn't wake up.

Eventually he saw her eyes open and gaze blankly at the empty space next to her. The morning light began to shine through the gaps in the curtains, and so the fact that he wasn't present in the last place she had seen him was obvious.

She sat up quickly, jumping when she noticed he was there, looking at her with saddened and concerned eyes. He pulled her into a hug, which she seemed to find comfort in, and he held onto her tightly, wishing that she was like a sponge and he could just squeeze all of the sadness and stress out of her and leave her happy.

He played with her ears as they flopped back against her back by his hands, running the soft and silky ears through his fingertips. "What happened, Lexi?" He spoke quietly again, his voice barely above a whisper. He planted his face in her hair, shut his eyes, and waited for an answer.

She felt her wet tears against his chest and felt her sharp intake soft breath as she cried against him, but he didn't want to hear or fell her weeping against him.

He pulled away from the embrace, finding that she gripped onto him like a vice, but eventually he was able to detach her from him, He placed his hand underneath her chin and looked up at her, using his other hand to wipe away the fresh tears from her cheeks and eyes.

When he had cleared her vision, he pressed his lips against hers and held the kiss for a while, hoping to calm her down. "Hey, Lex?" He prompted his previous query as he entwined his fingers in her soft hair.

Lexi sniffed and drew in a breath, "I…I guess talking…talking…about….about my previous…dre…dream, was a…bad…idea." She sniffed and breathed as he spoke, making her words stuttered and paused, "…Ace, I…I…had…anoth…another…night…nightmare." She paused again and looked up at him, "Ace, it was…was from when…from…that…guy….the guy in…"

Ace paused her, "Who? What guy, Lex?" He placed his hand on her cheek.

"The…guy from Utah…remember?" She sniffed and used the sleeve of Ace's shirt to wipe away further tears which were now streaming from her eyes.

Ace sighed and pulled her into another hug, "Its okay, Lexi. Its okay" He cooed as he rubbed her back, "I'm here, and dat's all dat matters. It was just a dream, nothin' real. You're okay, you're okay now." He kissed the top of her head, "I'm here."

* * *


	27. Angst

**Sorry for the massive delay, It's taken me over a month to update, I feel so rude! **

**But I did suffer from a major writer's block, plus, since it's the summer break here, I've been trying to spend less time on my computer, and more time outside...but, apparently we're gonna be having a VERY wet summer...and it has been so far, so I guess I will be spending more time writing on my laptop and drinking coffee, but, oh well, such is life.**

**I feel that this chapter could've had more detail in it, in the center part, but if it did, it would have been far too long, so I've made it suddenly jump from the morning, to night.**

I'm sorry if this has taken some by surprise, but I didn't want to drag the chapter/story out too long, plus, this chapter is based around Ace and Lexi's feelings about each other and the baby.

**WARNING: MATURE CONTENT, READER'S BE WARNED!!!**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

She lay there, staring up at the sky above her, the moon wasn't in sight, but the Milky Way certainly was, but for once she didn't care for the masses of stars above her, the stars which she had the greatest view of - there was no light pollution from a big city to block them out.

But tonight they weren't shining orbs above her, tonight they were measly lumps, blotches of white; blurs in front of her wet, salty, teary eyes.

Half clothed, she was vulnerable, but now she didn't want to be saved, she wanted to die. What had just happened was the worst experience of her life; she only wished that the coyote's howl which she could hear from the desert was instead the howl of a coyote which had found fresh meat – a bunny caught out alone at night.

She flinched at every sound, every movement, but she didn't fear the possibility of death, she welcomed it, but she did fear the return of the man who had put her in this position, and his friends. She didn't have the strength to stand up, let alone fight or run; she would be helpless to whatever sick and torturous things they would do to her next.

Every breath she drew into her lungs was a shaky one, and it annoyed her that her breathing was so audible when she would usually be able to keep it virtually silent, but now she felt as if she had lost everything – her safety, her love for life, her happiness.

She suddenly felt all of her fear and sadness drain away, she couldn't find any more tears to cry, and so she stayed where she was, preserving what little strength she had for when she needed it or when she felt she could stand up and get home.

She was sore

She was cold – despite the warmth of the state she lived in and the warm breeze which swept by her.

She was angry

She was terrified.

Suddenly her fear came back to her, just as she thought that it was too late and the men had moved off, bored by their scared 'prey', she heard the sound of footsteps slowly drawing closer and closer...

Lexi opened her eyes, she blinked several times, trying to rid herself of the visions which she saw in her eyelids whenever they covered her green eyes, the memory of that night was always so vivid when she remembered what she had endured, and the memory haunted her every time she thought of it.

She didn't want to wake or worry Ace, he had had a bad night sleep too because of her bad dreams, so had the rest of her concerned team mates – but they hadn't woken up the second time a nightmare had deprived her and Ace of sleep.

She sat up carefully, not wanting to wake the sleeping bunny beneath her head; she leant up on her arms and turned to look at him. She smiled, he looked so peaceful yet still strong and wise like he was, yet there was a strange childlikeness which he had when he slept, perhaps it was the way the sheets were ruffled around him, or the way his mouth was open slightly – allowing his warm breath to leave his body.

She was tempted to touch him, to feel his soft fur beneath her fingers and to watch as his glistening eyes opened and locked onto her where he would give her his confident, handsome, loving and caring smile which she loved so much.

Lexi knew that she shouldn't however, despite how much she wanted to, instead her better judgement took over, the one which told her _'no – don't wake him, he's tired and you know that'._ With a sigh she crawled over him and got off of the bed.

Lexi entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She first used the toilet, being pregnant had made her need to use it far more often - which did annoy her, but at least the morning sickness hadn't come...yet.

Finishing, she washed her hands and checked herself in the mirror, her hair was a mess, but it reminded her of both the pleasant....and the unpleasant memories of last night. She leaned on the sink, taking a closer look at herself in the mirror, before leaning back and switching on the light.

Lexi found herself to be somewhat tired as she turned around, seemingly forgetful over what was next in her morning sequence – despite how she did the same every morning. She considered going back to bed, but she knew that she probably wouldn't get much sleep now that she was 'up and about', and she didn't want to risk waking Ace.

She rubbed her right eye and sighed, grabbing a new towel from the shelf below the sink and dropping it on the floor by the bath mat (which was positioned where the shower door was). She undid the buttons of Ace's shirt and slid her arms out of the garment, discarding the item, and tossing it into the laundry basket by the door.

Turning around to face the mirror she looked at herself, she _was_ very skinny. She sighed and placed a hand on her abdomen, knowing that it was only a matter of time before she would begin to show visible signs that she carried a child – this was why her parents had to know soon, and she shuddered to think what the press would say, oh how they would speculate over who of the male Loonatics' child it was...

She did a prolonged scan of herself, both in the mirror, and by looking down at herself; she noted the way her body looked now, and compared it with how she knew it would change later. This sent a shiver run down her spine, she knew what some, maybe all, men were like. A lot judged a woman by her weight and overall appearance. Was Ace like that? Would he be turned off by how she would look in the coming months?

She discarded the thought just as quickly as she had the shirt, mentally tossing it to the side, and locking it in a box where it couldn't come across her mind again. She opened the shower door, flinching when it creaked loudly, and she strained her super hearing to try and determine whether the sound had woken Ace up. She heard him mumble something incoherent as he rolled over, it made her smile.

The water was warm and pleasant as it began to soak her fur and reach her skin, and it immediately began to both make her feel refreshed and awake as well. She stepped back to where the water could run over her head to wet her ears and hair and she began to muse over the questions which had plagued her mind earlier and for the majority of last night.

She wasn't certain whether Ace was the type of person who judged a woman on their physical appearance rather than their mind, and she didn't really want to know. She knew that he had found her attractive when they both met, but his love for her had grown over time after finding out what she was like – he had told her that last night. But whether it was a yearning for their relationship to be more than a friendship because of whom she was that made Ace ask her to dinner on their first official date, she wasn't sure. She hated to think that he was just the kind of man who started a relationship purely to 'get in her pants', and the thought made her shudder and stare awkwardly up at the ceiling.

She tried her best to contradict her abrupt conclusion of him, but she couldn't help but think of where his 'concern' for her had just led to...other things. Their first date, it was nothing like she had ever hoped to come out of a relationship, she never wanted to be the kind of person who had their first date end with _that..._and now the consequences of 'that' had devastating results – their first date had wound up with him impregnating her! And then last night, she was upset, he had comforted her, and then it had happened again.

She slumped her shoulders and frowned, was this all their relationship was? He comforted her and then got a reward for it? She wasn't sure if she wanted to speak to him about it, though, she didn't want him to get mad, but she knew that he'd eventually be able to sense that something was wrong.

She sighed and picked up the soap and began washing, deciding to think of something else, she ran her hands through her ears and let her mind wander...

Her heart thudded in her chest as she heard the footsteps, they were coming closer and closer, she noticed the bright beam of a torch as it shone on the tree near her, the light which illuminated it allowed her to glimpse the sight of a drop of fresh blood on the trunk, she wandered if that was from the blow she received when the mad had forced her against the tree.

Realising this, she felt a throbbing in her arm which she hadn't recognised until now, it stung and she could feel liquid along her arm, warm liquid which oozed from the sore spot and trickled to the ground underneath her.

"Lexi!"

The torch light shone in her direction again, this time its bright beam hit her eyes and she automatically closed them, reopening them when she could tell that the light was gone, but it left her unable to see properly and she had to blink so regain her sight.

"Lexi?"

She heard a voice, and she instantly recognised it, it was Pete, one of her older brothers, she was sure of it.

But she didn't have the strength to call back to him.

She tried to scream, and shout, but all that erupted from her throat was a crackle, her mouth and throat was dry, she was too afraid to make her presence known to her own brother.

She heard his retreating footsteps, and she tried desperately to make a noise, if she couldn't make a sound from her vocal chords than she would try something else – she was desperate.

She reached for something, a stone, a branch, anything that would be easy to throw and that would still make a sound if it missed its mark.

Her feeble fingers landed on a large stone to her right, she gripped it, and crossed her fingers in her left hand, praying that it would work.

She threw the rock, straining her arm as she did so, it didn't go far, it hit the lower branches of the tree in front of her, merely shaking its leaves, but her brother wasn't listening for sounds of movement from trees, he was listening for his sister – desperate to find her safe.

Lexi shut her eyes and felt a lump develop in her throat, she couldn't think of anything else to do, she couldn't feel anything which she could use to make noise, and she allowed the tears to escape her eyes and roll down her cheeks – knowing that it wouldn't be until tomorrow that someone might find her.

Her intake of breath and her loud sob which accompanied it reached her brother's ears, as she saw the light suddenly shine in her direction again, this time it didn't hit her eyes.

"Lexi...you there?"

She was desperate, she strained her voice to call out to him, but all that came out was a measly croak, she resorted desperately to whacking the ground next to her with her hands, rhythmically so that he might realise that it was in fact some_one_, not some_thing_ making a noise.

She heard a snap and a crack in her right hand and she winced in pain, tears that were drying from her prior sobs now spilling down her cheeks from the sudden pain she found herself in.

Her brother was quick to reach her; he walked carelessly over the small bushes and weeds near her, for once unconcerned about the possible snakes which could be lurking in the undergrowth.

As soon as he laid eyes on her he dropped the torch, its light shone towards her hip, Pete dropped to his knees beside her and gently placed his hands on her cheeks, "Lexi?" He assessed her condition, the state of her clothing, the bruises and cuts on her arms and legs, the wet tears on her cheeks under his warm hands.

He saw her furrow her eyebrows in sadness, he heard her shaky breaths and watched as her eyes dropped their gaze from his face to her legs, he followed where her eyes went and gasped when he realised immediately what had happened.

"Lexi..." He furrowed his eyebrows in sadness and anger, sadness for what had happened to his younger sister, and anger towards whoever had done it to her.

Pete raised his level to a crouch, and slowly moved to her legs, not taking his eyes off of her face, he knew that she would be distressed and he wanted her to make sure that she didn't think that he had the same intentions as the man, or men, who had done this to her.

He only took his eyes off of her to find the waistband of her jeans, when he had a grip on them he slowly and carefully pulled them up; scared to accidentally hurt her if she had any cuts on her upper legs.

He realised that her underwear too wasn't in place, and he looked away as he pulled her pants up all the way, not wanting to make her more uncomfortable. She slapped his arm when she felt his hand on her leg.

"Oww, Lex?!" He was about to complain but knew that she was only uncomfortable, he would have to put up with her, but he hadn't expected how hard she could hit, and he didn't look forward to carrying her home.

She hit him a second time, this time with her right hand, he heard the grinding sound and it made him flinch. He carefully took her hand, trying to feel for any breakage, but wasn't too thorough, he didn't want to hurt her.

"Lexi, your hand...." He whispered quietly, looking back at her.

"Mhmm..."

"Lexi you need some water, I need to get you home, and Leah and Alex can have a look at you."

"Mhmm?!"

He reached for his phone, eyeing her as he heard her mumble of protest. "Lexi, they need to see if there's anything wrong, something could have gotten infected..."

Lexi felt her eyelids droop when he made the phone call first to their home, and then to her other brothers and friends who had gone to find her.

Pete turned back to Lexi and slipped off his jacket, laying it over her bare arms as a blanket before he carefully scooped his arms underneath her, to carry her back home...

Lexi's head shot up, the water which rained from the shower was now becoming an annoying whine to the sound-sensitive bunny. She turned around and turned off the water, quickly opening the shower door and picking her towel up off of the floor.

She dried her face and arms before wrapping herself in the white towel, warming herself up before drying herself thoroughly and dressing.

Lexi folded up the white towel and hung it over the towel rail to dry, she then opened the bathroom door slowly – careful not to wake Ace, she tip-toed out of the room and started for the corridor to the kitchen.

--

She was surprised to see Tech standing by the coffee maker when she entered the kitchen space, she watched him as the coffee maker finished up while she walked down the last step into the kitchen.

"Morning Tech." She greeted him with a smile when he turned around and realised her presence.

"Oh, morning Lexi." He smiled back at her, though his speech was slow and deep, he was obviously tired, "Coffee?" He asked, gesturing to the cup which he held in one hand.

"Yeah, Coffee sounds great!" Lexi smiled at the coyote, he returned the gesture as he turned around again to make the bunny the beverage she desired.

Lexi turned around and headed to the table, she sat down in one of the seats as Tech came over with two cups of coffee, he set Lexi's cup down in front of her, and placed his own in the space opposite to her. "Thanks." Lexi smiled.

Tech sat down in his place and took a sip from his cup, he eyed her as he did so, before gesturing to her cup. "Aren't you gonna have any? I didn't poison it."

Lexi smiled back, "I know Tech, it's just a tad too hot for me right now."

"You want me to put some cold water in it?"

Lexi gave him a surprised look, "Tech, I can walk, it's not like this baby thing's rendered me immobile."

"Yeah, I guess." Tech shrugged, "Just trying to help, I'm at my wits end with this."

"What do you mean?" She leaned closer into the table to listen, her face hovering over the coffee mug.

"Well, I'm used to knowing what's wrong with you guys when you're sick...but this, It makes me feel nervous, because I'm not an expert at this kind of thing, so I'm worried that something will happen to you, and none of us will know what to do to help you."

Lexi frowned, "Tech I..." She stopped, suddenly her hand gripped her stomach and her breathing became shaky as she felt a lump develop in her throat and her forehead begin to moisten with sweat.

"Lexi?!" Tech stood up, letting his chair clatter to the floor as he did so, he swiftly walked around the table to her and pulled her seat out from under the table, and turned it so that her body would face him.

Tech crouched down on his haunches to where we could see her face, her eyes were locked onto her stomach, she was tense - almost as if she was trying to force herself to do something, or to _not _do something.

"Tech." She gasped, "I...I think....that....coffee...was...a bad...idea." She had to stop herself every so often so catch her breath.

Tech looked at her, confused for a moment, before he realised what she meant, "Oh. Lexi, stay there, don't move, I don't want you to upset your stomach, don't move."

She nodded.

Tech disappeared for a few moments before he returned with a plastic bucket in one hand, he jumped down the steps into the kitchen, and placed the bucket in front of her on the floor.

He crouched down in front of her so that he could make eye contact with her, "Lexi...are you okay?"

Lexi drew in a deep breath of air before replying, "Yeah, I think so..."

Tech half smiled, "I'll get rid of the coffee."

Lexi looked up at him as he stood up, "No Tech, don't worry about it..."

"Lexi, I don't want you to get sick, especially since you've got nothing in you right now, you'll feel empty but you won't want to eat because you'll be too afraid." He saw Lexi's look of objection, "I know what you're like, Lex."

Lexi frowned; Tech ignored her expression as he turned around and poured their two cups of coffee into the sink. He turned back to face her, and leant against the sink, analysing her expression, "Don't look at me like that Lexi, you're pregnant now, your needs come first – I don't want to see you get hurt or upset or sick because of us."

"Tech..."

"Get used to it, Lexi."

Lexi was surprised by his tone and jumped, immediately regretting it as her stomach churned, she clutched it and shut her eyes, slowly rocking herself backwards and forwards to calm herself.

Tech frowned, "I'm sorry Lexi...I guess I'm just tired..." He pushed himself away from the sink and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room; he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll be in the lab..."

He walked away hastily, and he managed to reach the steps by the time Lexi realised where he was, "Wait Tech..." But he was already out of ear shot, Lexi sighed, "Don't go..." She muttered.

She turned back to face the bucket on the floor in front of her and her eyes drifted to the phone mounted on the wall, her lip trembled at the thought of having to contact her family about the pregnancy....she knew it would be better to tell them in person rather than over the phone....but it might not be good for Ace's health.

She sighed, she knew that it was more the males in her family that would be hazardous to her health, mainly her father, her brothers would be more understanding....but still disappointed in her, and annoyed at Ace.

They _did_ care, they always had when she was in some form of trouble, but she was still afraid of what they would think of her, what friends and other family would think of her, what Ace's parents would think of her....what her team mates thought of her...

Everyone would think of her in a negative way, when the press found out, she knew they would speculate over who the father was, and that would only lead others into thinking that she slept with her team mates...all of them.

She felt tears in her eyes and a deep sadness, like a trembling lump had developed in her throat and chest, she could remember the last time she felt this sad and scared, and angry all at the same time...it wasn't too difficult to remember...

She shivered, but she couldn't determine whether it was from coldness of fear, and she naturally leaned into the closest source of warmth; her brother, Pete, who carried her towards her home.

They were still some way away from her home, her brother wasn't walking as quickly as he would normally be able to, but it wasn't because of the extra weight he had to travel with, but more with the hope of meeting up with her other brothers and friends who had gone out to find her; before they were confronted with their parents' concerned questions, and worries.

"Pete!"

Her brother stopped and checked behind him, locating two forms jogging towards him.

"You got her?" One called as they drew closer.

"Yeah." Pete said quietly, "Where're the others?"

"Not too far away, we called 'em, said they'd be here soon." One said, pointing behind him.

"Good, I want to talk with you guys before we get to the house."

"You sure that's a good idea?" The one who had spoken first asked, he walked up to the male bunny and analysed the person in his arms. "She doesn't look good..."

"Hey!" They all turned to the north at the sound of a call from ten or so metres away, where they noticed five others approaching. "Pete, Mitch, Spence – she okay?"

They didn't answer, they weren't sure what to say, Pete kept his mouth firmly shut, Spencer and Mitchell didn't dare speak, and they didn't know how their brother, or Lexi, would react. Instead they let the others continue to walk and draw closer to their 'group huddle'.

Lexi's eyes were half shut; she could recognise the voices of her brothers, and some of the others who were approaching. She was disoriented though, and she couldn't decipher where she was, she wanted desperately to be at home where it was safe, of course she trusted her brothers and friends – and she felt safe with them around – but she didn't want to be outside, where the men were, the men who had caused this.

She shut her eyes fully in sadness when she thought of that man as she leaned in closer to Pete, clutching his shirt as her lip trembled, She couldn't erase his face from her mind, it appeared whenever she shut her eyes, and it terrified her, he would haunt her for as long as her eyes were shut – she would never be free.

Noticing his sister's grip, Pete looked down at her, he frowned deeply at the terrified expression on her face, but he didn't know what to do or what to say, instead he pulled the jacket up over her shoulders and held her tighter.

She looked up at him, as he turned back to the group who now stood before him, she glanced at the others, Spencer and Mitchell were closest to Pete, with Michael walking towards the small group - all of her brothers were with her, they were the closest ones to her that she could see their confused, yet stern faces. Pete's was anguished, he knew what had happened to his sister, but his expression was firm as he tried to hide his sadness and anger, but she knew what he really felt.

The others, her close friends, stood farther away, but were still close enough that even in the dark she could distinguish who they were, Jeremy and Josh – two brothers of her age who were in her sister's band, who were perhaps her closest male friends, then there was Anthony and Rick, two pilot friends of her brothers.

"Pete, what the hell happened?" Mitchell muttered to his brother.

Pete replied loudly, addressing everyone, "Look, what happened here was bad, but, whatever's said and explained in the house, will _not _be said or repeated in front of Teresa, she's nine, I don't want her to be freaked out by this.

"Well what do we tell her, she's gonna want to know what's happened!"

Pete hesitated, looking across at Josh, "We'll just say that she was hurt."

Spencer raised his eyebrows in concern, "You're saying that one of my sister's was hurt, yet that's not _exactly _it? What happened to her?" His voice was frantic, pleading, angry and desperate all in one sentence.

Anthony sighed, "Let's get back, your parents'll wanna know what's happened, and Lexi looks cold."

She made brief eye contact with all of them, none of them looked happy to see her like they usually were, instead, as they walked back towards the house, they looked pitied, because they knew that something bad had happened to their sister, their friend, but they didn't know what was wrong with her.

They only waited silently to hear what had happened to her...

Lexi jumped and gasped when she felt two arms slide over her shoulders and wrap themselves around her middle.

"Mornin' Lex." She felt Ace's warm breath on her cheek.

"Ace." She gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry Lex, did I scare ya?" He asked as he turned her chair around to face him, he leant over her, bending down slightly so that he was level with her, and rested his arms on her legs.

"Just a tad..." She sighed, "Now where's my morning kiss?" She rose and eyebrow and smirked at him.

"Impatient much?" Ace smirked back, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. When he finally pulled away he stared at her in surprise, "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

Ace seemed dazed as he stood up, "Dat was more tongue than I'm used to."

Lexi blushed, "Sorry..."

"Don't be, I liked it." He smiled and took her hands, pulling her up to face him, but suddenly remembering something, he gently pulled her against him and rested a hand on her stomach, "Sorry, dat didn't....stir anythin' up in there, did it?"

"No Ace, that sickness has been...and gone....for now."

"Oh, dat's good I guess." He rested his hands on her hips when he spoke next, "So...what was with da enthusiasm with da kiss back there?"

She looked down, gazing blankly at the upside-down triangle on his chest, she rested her hands on it, before staring back up at him, "I was just thinking of all of the good times we've had together...as a couple."

He smiled back at her, but his smile soon disappeared as a realisation came to his mind, "Does dat mean there have been bad points as well?"

Lexi accidentally gave him a guilty look, but she soon placed her gaze to where her hands were, but not before he had the chance to comment on her expression.

"What bad t'ings, Lex?"

"We'll talk about it...later, Ace..."

--

"Okay Lex, I've waited an entire day, what were those '_bad parts' _you referred to earlier?" Ace asked as he led her into his room, the lights were off, it was past midnight, but the two knew their way around his room easily in the dark.

He held onto her hand as he pulled her gently though his doorway, along the 'hallway' and towards his bed, "What bad parts?" She answered quickly.

The two were already in their pyjamas and had brushed their teeth in Lexi's room earlier after she had changed clothes for the night. Ace sat down next to Lexi on his bed and turned to face her, "Lexi, you know what I'm talkin' about."

She bit her lip and stared up at the ceiling to think.

Ace looked at her worriedly, "You can tell me, I won't be mad, what's wrong?"

"I just want to test something...." She replied quietly. She leant towards him and kissed him, her hands resting on his bare chest, caressing the fur with her fingers. She felt him kiss back, and moved her hands from his chest to her own, and began unbuttoning her pyjama shirt.

Ace pulled away suddenly, "Lexi, what are you doing?" He stared down in surprise at her unbuttoned shirt and took her hands to move them away from her torso, before proceeding to do the buttons back up.

She frowned at him, only to have him send her a suspicious glare, "What were you '_testing'?" _He raised an eyebrow at her.

Lexi frowned, "Ace I was just....thinking this morning...about....something..." She glanced up at him before staring down at the small space between them, "You know what, it's nothing important." She turned to face the pillows and to pull the bed sheets back, but Ace restrained her, holding onto her hands and pulling her against him.

"If it's about us, Lex, then it's definitely important."

She bit her lip, "Ace...it's just that...I find that...you know last night...what happened...."

He raised an eyebrow, "You mean da nightmares?"

"No." She sighed, "Before that...before we went to sleep..."

"Yeah..."

"Don't you think that what we did...was a little..._sudden_?" She saw the questioning look he gave her, "As in, we were talking...you were trying to help me with the whole...baby prospect...and then just like that," She snapped her fingers, "we ended up..."

"What are you sayin', Lex?"

"Ace, I just...remember our first date, that's the whole reason we're in this mess," She placed a hand on her abdomen and bit her lip, "Ace I've known of girls who let their first date end like that, and I swore that I wouldn't be one of them, my idea of a perfect first date was that I'd have a great time, we'd date for a few months before we decided to show love in _that_ way – and that's not what happened...and it...it makes me feel wrong."

Ace frowned at her, "I'm sorry Lex...like I've told Alex, I never meant for dis to happen, I had never even imagined dat _dat_ was how our date would end...if I had known...I would've done something to stop dis..."

"Yeah" Lexi sighed quietly, "It kinda makes me wonder where we would be if that hadn't happened...if the date had just ended with us going back to our own rooms for the night...But, I guess we can't do anything to stop this now, so we've got to just...endure it." Her voice cracked at the last two words.

"Come here Lex." Ace held his arms out for her, and Lexi crawled into his embrace, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, and rested his chin on her head, inhaling the scent of her hair. "Lexi if I could take dat baby out of you now, so dat it wouldn't hurt either of you, and so dat we could watch it grow without it makin' you upset, or putting you in pain; I would, I'd do it straight away at da very thought, but I can't, Lex."

He shut his eyes and sighed into her hair, "But I wish I could. Dis baby's hurting you, making you upset, if a person was making you feel dat way I'd never let them, nor would I let them forget dat I would do anythin' to protect you from pain, and now I feel helpless, because there's nothin' I can do, and I have to look at you like this, and I can't do anythin' to stop it – I'm being overpowered by an unborn baby!"

He pushed her away from him gently and wiped the tears from her eyes, "But it's my kid, Lex. And dat's somethin' we can't change, and I wouldn't trade dat for anythin' else, you and this baby are all I'm thinkin' about during a lot of the day, the two of you are part of me, Lex, dat baby is _us_, it's everythin' I could want, Lexi, I _want _dis baby, I really do! I only wish dat it wouldn't be making you dis sad, I can't see you sad, Lex, because then I feel angry, and the only t'ing I can be angry at is my kid, but it hasn't done anythin' wrong." He brushed her hair away from her eye with his fingers, "Please be happy Lex, it's da only thing I could ask for right now, I know dis is hard, but I _need_ you, Lex, and I need you to be happy," He placed a hand on hers, over the place where their child was growing, "We both need you to be happy."

Lexi smiled at him and sniffed, using her wrist to wipe a tear off of her cheek, "You're right." She placed her other hand over his, stroking the fur on his hand with her thumb, she smiled down at herself, at the place where life was being made inside of her, "I'll keep him safe." She said quietly, "I won't let anything happen to him, Ace; he'll be fine, I promise." She looked up at Ace and smiled.

Ace couldn't quite place the smile she gave him, he had never seen that kind of smile on her face, it made her glow, and her eyes sparkled, she looked like the most beautiful thing he had ever lain his eyes upon, her smile was so warm...and he knew what it was, motherhood, it was realisation that she carried a miracle within her womb, and it was _her_ child, made up of half of her, and half of the man she loved more than anything, the child was _them_.

* * *


	28. FIRST Date

**I apologise for the delay in writing the chapter - I was on summer break (There's only one more week to go) and so I haven't tried to spend to much time on my computer, but I was committed to getting the chapter written and posted before the end of my summer holiday - so I'm happy that I achieved that goal!**

**Darn, I really need to add more action - these chapters have lacked...._no, I won't say that_, that lack....action**

**I'll have to add some for the next chapter!!!**

**I feel that this has somewhat of an abrupt ending, my apologies - but it was becoming too long!**

Song(s) Featured: 'Dear God' - Avenged Sevenfold  
'Leave Out All The Rest' - Linkin Park

WARNINGS: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS NUDITY, SEXUAL REFERENCES AND MATURE CONTENT - READER DISCRETION ADVISED!

Enjoy

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Ace and Lexi left the movie theatre hand in hand, the streets were dark and quiet – they were the last to leave the theatre, and so their accompanied audience must have already left.

The two were out of uniform, and so their fur colour had returned to their respective Cream-tan, and Grey colour. Ace was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a brown T-shirt, and a smart Brown-striped Blazer - jacket. Lexi was wearing a pair of Purple skinny jeans, with a Black and White striped T-Shirt, and a Black Jacket.

Ace kissed Lexi on the cheek before he led her back to his motorcycle which he had parked nearby. He helped her to put the helmet on, before placing his own over his head. "Hold on!" He looked behind himself, at Lexi, with a smile. In response, she leaned closer into him, and wrapped her arms around his middle as Ace revved the engine of the motorcycle before the two bunnies sped off into the night.

Lexi liked how safe she felt when she rode behind Ace, he liked to drive fast, but she knew that he would never do anything which could put her in danger of being hurt. She enjoyed the feeling of warmth as she pressed herself further against his back, and she loved the feeling of speed and exhilaration as the wind whipped past her ears and ribbon as they sped further and further away from central Acmetropolis.

Normally she would want to know why they were leaving the large city, why so many signs reading '_You are now leaving Central Acmetropolis'_ and '_Thank you for visiting Central Acmetropolis'_ sped past them. She looked back once, seeing the bright lights of Acmetropolis draw further and further away. She saw their head quarters, as it rose much higher than any of the other buildings, the floating blue orb shimmered and sparkled – it reminded her of Ace's eyes. She liked how the golden lights of other buildings became blurred as she blinked, and how the amount of headlights from cars began to dwindle as they distanced themselves more and more from the centre of the busy city.

When she felt the motorbike start to turn a corner, she looked back ahead, not wanting to unbalance herself. She gasped as she realised where they were, it seemed close to the area where Rev used to live – in the desert areas surrounding the city. The desert expanse wasn't as large as what she would usually see in Utah, but it was still enough to make her smile and rest her chin on Ace's left shoulder as she leant against him and slightly tightened her grip around him – trying to hug him.

Ace slowed the motorcycle now, perhaps he wanted to be more cautious incase something happened, as there wouldn't be as many witnesses to aid them if they crashed or lost control of the vehicle.

He eventually stopped the bike completely and removed his helmet; Lexi leaned back away from him, and took her own off too. She looked around her, the sky was a dark blue around the horizon and it darkened to an inky black as she scanned the sky. She smiled widely when she saw the millions of stars above them, the stars that she could never see from the city because of the light pollution, but now she could see all that the Milky Way galaxy had to offer. The moon wasn't in the sky, a new moon would appear the next night, which made it easier to view the stars, but harder to see their surroundings.

Lexi could vaguely make out the shapes of butes and rock formations in the distance, as well as the slight silhouettes of cactuses. As she scanned the land around them, her gaze finally rested on Ace, who had turned himself around and now faced her, he smiled. "Pleased?"

Lexi was slightly taken aback by his brief question, but smiled and nodded, "Yes, but what...."

Ace interrupted her query by pressing his lips against hers, when he pulled away he smiled, "Dis morning – While you were still asleep - I was t'inkin' about what you said last night, about how you wish dat our first date hadn't ended up da way it did. And so it got me t'inkin', and I know we can't erase what happened," He held her hands in his, "But at least tonight we could try and have our 'first date' da way it could have been."

Lexi bit her lip whilst smiling, before throwing her arms around him, "Ace, I don't know what to say..."

"How about 'Okay'." Ace raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay." She smiled.

"And so, to make dis enjoyable...." Ace pulled out something from his jacket pocket, "I made a playlist of songs dat I know you like, but songs dat would also be appropriate. And, if you don't mind getting up..."

Lexi, still smiling widely, stood up at his request and stood by him as he also stood. Ace lifted up the seat that the two had been sharing, to reveal a small compartment which contained a box and a stack of blankets.

He first pulled out the pile of blankets and held them up so that Lexi could see them, "A bunch of blankets, since I know from a reliable source dat Deserts can be cold at night." He unfolded one blanket, and held it open as he walked some few paces away from the motorbike, and laid the blanket on the ground. He then returned to pick up the box in one hand, and took Lexi's hand, and gently guided her over, with the other.

He sat down on the blanket, Lexi doing the same, while Ace opened the box and showed her the items as he arranged them on the blanket in front of the two, "I also brought drinks..." He pulled out a bottle from within the box. The bottle was green in colour, and was shaped like a wine bottle. "And, Lex, since I know you don't really want to have alcohol, dis _is_ a wine bottle" He held it up for her to see, "But its contents is in fact Juice, while another has water in it." He smiled at her.

Lexi laughed at his actions, he was so sweet to remember that she never drank alcohol – not even at Christmas or other celebrations. She also never drank because she knew that legally she wasn't able to, though both her family at home and her team mates would often offer her a small amount for celebration purposes – but to be on the safe side, she would have a different beverage instead.

She smiled as he pulled two wine glasses out of the box, and put them in front of the two. Ace next took out two plates and also put them in front of the two. "And since we both have a mutual love for Italian food," He took out another, smaller box, "I took da liberty of preparing some home cooked Lasagne for da two of us....and hopefully it's still warm, otherwise dis thermos box was a waste."

Lexi giggled, "It'll be fine, Ace, whatever temperature it is."

"Yeah, I hope." Ace smiled as he took out the last of what was in the box, "Here's the cutlery, and I'll keep da dessert in da box so dat it doesn't spoil..."

"You made dessert, too?" Lexi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yeah," Ace chuckled, "My cooking skills aren't _actually_ dat bad, believe it or not, but Tech gave me a hand makin' da Crème Brûlée."

Lexi looked surprised, "You guys made _that..._and..._.Tech_ helped you make it?"

"Yeah," Ace smiled, "Who knew dat dat Coyote could cook as well, I never really thought of him as da cooking type."

"Yeah." Lexi smiled.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Ace pulled out a vase and a red rose from the box; he placed the rose in the vase and positioned it in the centre of the blanket.

"Perfect." Lexi smiled before kissing him on the cheek, "...Only it's a tad difficult to see...did you bring a flashlight?"

"Actually, I brought matches instead." Ace smiled; he pulled out a small box of matches from his pocket. He then stepped over the blanket carefully and bent down to pick up some sticks. When he had gathered a sufficient amount of fire wood, he put the sticks in a pile, opposite to where he and Lexi were sitting, and made sure that the sticks weren't too close to the blanket. He struck the match against the side of the match-stick box, and lit the wood, almost immediately the fire engulfed the pile of sticks, the golden flames licking and climbing the wood until all of the pile was glowing under the starry light.

Ace then scooped some sand around the bottom of the camp fire, so that the sand would stop the fire from spreading over anything else, before he returned to Lexi's side once again.

He poured them both a glass of water, before serving them each a slab of Lasagne; they began eating in silence at first, before Lexi broke the silence by commenting on all that Ace had done, which had somehow prompted the grey rabbit to put the CD into his motorbike's disk drive.

Lexi smiled and rolled her eyes as he got up. "Ace, you don't have to, everything's great as it is, are you turning into a perfectionist now or something?" She smiled; Ace knew it was a joke.

As soon as the song had begun to play, and a slow drum beat, accompanied by two acoustic guitars sounded, Lexi's ears perked up as she instantly recognised the song, "You put Avenged Sevenfold on here?"

_A lonely road, crossed another cold state line  
Miles away from those I love  
Purpose hard to find_

"Err...Yes..." He seemed as though he didn't really know who was playing, and was joking when he answered her. Ace smiled as he sat down beside her. "Why, do you not like them as much?"

_While I recall all the words you spoke to me  
Can't help but wish that I was there  
Back where I'd love to be, oh yeah_

"Hell yeah!" Lexi smiled, "I saw them live with Sam and two of our guy friends....that was a fun day."

_Dear God the only thing I ask of you  
Is to hold her when I'm not around  
When I'm much too far away  
We all need that person who can be true to you  
But I left her when I found her  
And now I wish I'd stayed  
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired  
I'm missing you again, oh no  
Once again_

Ace smiled as he listened to the chorus, "It's not a bad song, I like it." He glanced over at her, "So do they only do acoustic, country stuff?"

_There's nothing here for me on this barren road  
There's no one here while the city sleeps  
And all the shops are closed  
Can't help but think of the times I've had with you  
Pictures and some memories will have to help me through, oh yeah_

Lexi smiled, "Nah." She shifted closer to him and leaned against him, "They pretty much match 'Guns 'N' Roses' with their awesomeness, but some of their stuff is really heavy and quite 'screamy', so there are some songs that I just can't really get into."

_Dear God the only thing I ask of you is  
To hold her when I'm not around,  
When I'm much too far away  
We all need that person who can be true to you  
I left her when I found her  
And now I wish I'd stayed  
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired  
I'm missing you again oh no  
Once again_

_Some search, never finding a way  
Before long, they waste away  
I found you, something told me to stay  
I gave in, to selfish ways  
And how I miss someone to hold  
When hope begins to fade..._

_A lonely road, crossed another cold state line  
Miles away from those I love  
Hope is hard to find_

_Dear God the only thing I ask of you is  
To hold her when I'm not around,  
When I'm much too far away  
We all need the person who can be true to you  
I left her when I found her  
And now I wish I'd stayed  
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired  
I'm missing you again oh no  
Once again_

They sat in silence as the vocals stopped but the slow drum beat and the acoustic, and electric, guitars continued playing before eventually they faded away into silence.

By the time the six-and-a-half minute song had finished playing, the two had finished their Lasagne. Lexi smiled at Ace, "That was really, really good, Ace. I don't think I've had a Lasagne that good in a long time."

"T'anks." Ace smiled, "You still got room for dessert?"

"Yep."

As Ace put their plates and cutlery in plastic bags, and poured them both some more water, Lexi listened as the next song began to play. "Hello, I recognise this!" Lexi smiled as the introduction to 'Leave Out All The Rest' began to play.

"Yeah," Ace smiled back at her as he took two small glass dishes out of the box, "I quite like it, so I figured I'd put it on the CD. It was nice when we were campin', so I figured it was fitting now." He handed her one of the small glass dishes.

"Yey!" Lexi smiled, "I'm successfully brain-washing you into liking good music...mind you, this is a lot softer than their usual stuff."

"I'll have to have a listen to some of their other stuff sometime, then."

Lexi smiled at him before resting her gaze on the Crème Brûlée, it looked perfect, the custard a golden yellow, while the thin layer of sugar, which had been burnt on top, was perfectly crisp. "Wow, Ace, you really did surprise me, I didn't think you were _this _good at cooking!" She smiled as she took a bite.

"It's not dat hard, Lex, just custard."

"But still." She beamed at him, "I'm glad _you _can cook, I kinda suck at it."

"Lex, da amount of times you've cooked us breakfast, not once has it not been nice – Duck would've said so otherwise!"

Lexi smirked, "I guess my cooking skills have improved...Sam and I once set Pancakes on fire, back home."

Ace raised his eyebrows in both surprise and alarm, "How'd dat happen?"

"Honestly," Lexi chuckled, "I really don't know."

Ace smiled at her.

"So....were all of you guys in on this?"

"What do you mean?" Ace looked down at her.

"Well, you said that Tech helped you cook, and Rev helped you to pick the music that I especially like...and they haven't called to ask where we are...."

Ace looked up thoughtfully, and somewhat guiltily, "They know..."

--

"_Guys, I decided to sort dis whole 'first date' t'ing out with Lex, she's a bit upset dat it didn't go da way she had always hoped one would, and now look where we are! So I want to do somet'in' nice for her, and I've already got it planned out, though I'm gonna need your help for some t'ings..."_

"_YOU'RE GOING ON A SECOND 'FIRST DA...."_

"_...Duck, shut up!" Ace moaned as he clamped his hand over Duck's beak, "I don't want her to know yet!"_

"_Oh." Was all the waterfowl said when Ace released his grip on the bird's beak, "Wait....your first date...SO YOU'RE GONNA KNOCK HER UP _TWICE_?!"_

_Tech sighed in annoyance, "Duck, inside voice, you're giving me a headache. Anyway, Chief, what do you need help with?"_

"_Well for one, I don't want Lexi to know about dis," He glared at Duck, "But I also need help with finding some music 'cause I don't just want to put some stuff on dat she doesn't favour..."_

"_Oh-Ace-I-can-help-with-that! Lexi-and-I-have-pretty-much-the-same-taste-in-music! Well, not-exactly-the-same-taste-she-preferes-rock-and-a-bit-of-country-whereas-I-like-pop, rock, and-hip-hop,-but-I-can't-stand-country. Hey-why-do-they-call-it-taste-,you-know?-and-not-as-in-taste-as-in-food, but-I-meant-taste-as-in-liking-the-same-thing,-but-not-involving-food..."_

"_Rev?!" Duck, Ace and Tech's voices sounded in unison._

_Rev chuckled nervously, "Yep-sure-Ace-I-can-help!"_

_Ace smiled, "T'anks."_

_Duck scowled as the two left the main room of their head quarters. "He's gonna knock her up..._again." _He grumbled_

_--_

"Yeah...." Ace sighed. "He t'inks I'm gonna 'knock you up, again' but dat's not even possible!"

Lexi half-smiled at him as she rested a hand on his back, rubbing gently in small circles. "It's not your fault, Ace..."

"Then who's is it, Lex?" Ace snapped, "Last time I checked, you couldn't get pregnant on your own..." He sighed when he realised that his outburst had startled her, "I'm sorry, Lex. But no matter what way you look at dis, I'm da one to blame for dis whole mess. Lexi, I'll tell your family, I'll tell both of them at da same time."

"Ace..." She said softly, feeling guilty as she knew what her family was like; how they would react to the news.

"You know, Lex, Let's stop talking about dis, we do dis every night, we talk about dis problem, and then we get upset about it. Not tonight, I want tonight to be special, Lex."

There was a short moment of silence, before Lexi finally broke it; "So..." She smiled at him, as she wrapped her arms around her legs and leaned into him, "Anymore surprises?"

Ace smiled at her and stood up, offering his hand to her, "I was hopin' you'd say dat..."

--

"Are you sure it was okay for us to just leave everything back there, Ace?" Lexi asked as the duo biked slowly south of their prior location. They had left their 'campsite' as they headed towards somewhere that Lexi had yet to know of, Ace had simply checked for something in the compartment under the seat, before they set off, and Lexi was becoming anxious.

"It's fine, Lex. No-one'll be out here, it's da desert, and yeah it's not too far from da city, but still. Don't worry about it, Lex. There's nothin' for anyone to really take, except dirty dishes!" He turned back to look at her, giving her a smile.

Lexi sighed, "Yeah, I guess." She then gasped, "But what if the fire goes out, and we won't be able to find our stuff?"

"Worst case scenario, Lex, we come back and look tomorrow, otherwise, I have a compass built in this t'ing," He tapped the motorbike, "I know where we were, and how far we've travelled, it'll be easy to find everyt'in' – But just in case, I did pack a few extra blankets incase we had to camp somewhere different."

"You are resourceful, Ace." She smiled at him and nestled herself closer into him, "So where're we going?"

"You'll see, Lex; you'll see."

Some few minutes later, Ace stopped the motorbike, Lexi leaning back - away from him – to allow him to stand, where she followed suite.

She looked around, not really being able to see much, there was a darker expanse some few metres ahead of her, and what she assumed to be some rocks piled at least four metres high, behind it. She could also see some cactuses nearby.

Lexi walked a few steps forwards in intrigue, as she looked around, but was suddenly stopped and pulled back slightly after Ace had wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer to him. "Careful, Lex." He said softly.

"Why, what's that up ahead?" She replied, gesturing to the dark expanse ahead of her.

"Da surprise." Ace smiled as he kissed her, before letting go of her.

Lexi stood, completely and utterly confused by what the dark shape could be, she didn't understand - What was the surprise? She didn't want to say anything unless she sounded ungrateful that Ace had brought her somewhere that she wasn't impressed by – instead, she looked on in intrigue, and boredom, as she waited for Ace to expand on what he had previously said.

Just as she was about to turn around, Lexi heard a splash and felt some drops of water hit her exposed fur. She jumped, she wasn't expecting that. She assumed that maybe a rock had fallen into the dark expanse, which must have been water, but she hadn't heard Ace's reaction – surely he was surprised by the sudden and loud movement, too?

She turned around, expecting to see the familiar grey rabbit, but instead she saw nothing but the dark silhouette of a motorcycle, and a large desert. "What?" She muttered in surprise, unable to understand where Ace was, her heart began to thud as she realised that he wasn't there. What had happened to him? He had been right behind her, had he snuck off? - No, he would never leave her alone in such a place..._would he?_

Although she began to feel terribly scared, and lost, she also felt angry, why would he leave her? "Ace, if this is some sort of joke, it's not...." Her complaint was halted, when she stepped forward, as her foot had landed on something. Something, small and light-weight, a pile of something, that wasn't there before.

Lexi bent down to examine her finding, after she reluctantly picked up one of the items; she immediately recognised it as clothes.

Ace's clothes

"What?" She mumbled, but she turned around as she heard another sound of water moving from behind her, she stood up, and walked to the edge of the 'pool'. "Ace...you there?"

"I'm right here, Lex."

She turned her head to the right, upon hearing a familiar voice that she could vaguely make out. "Ace...I can barely see you..."

"Oh." She heard him mutter, "I guess super enhanced vision doesn't work both ways, huh?"

"If it did, you'd hear as good as I do, and realise how annoying it is." She sighed as she sat down.

She heard Ace swim closer to her until she could hear his breathing and the slight movement of his legs in the water, below her. "Can you do me a favour, then?" He asked

She smiled, "Sure."

He pointed behind her, "In da compartment under da motorbike seat, there are a couple of candles, can you grab those, and pass me da box of matches in da pocket of my jeans."

Lexi did as instructed, and handed him the items he had requested. Ace lit the match and lit the two candles that Lexi had set down by the edge of the 'pool', he then positioned them so that they were at the left, and right hand side of the pool, casting enough light for Lexi to be able to see him, and for her to be able to see the clear pool of water, with a slight bluish tint, which Ace was resting in.

He smiled at her, "T'anks. You comin' in?"

Lexi sat down, "Depends, what's the water like?"

"Nice and warm actually. It must've been da evenin' sun, da hot weather we've been getting', and da rocks."

Lexi was momentarily confused by the last item on his 'list', but then remembered how her father had once told her that stone was good at retaining heat, which was why the Butes and Canyons near her home were always roasting hot to the touch.

She smiled, "But I don't have my bathing suit."

Ace raised an eyebrow, "Neither do I." He winked at her.

Lexi could feel herself blush, they had seen each other nude before, but only a couple of times, and somehow she still felt strange revealing herself to him, whether it was because their relationship was young, or whether it was just her naturally feeling uncomfortable with having someone of the opposing gender to see her without clothes on, she wasn't sure. He had almost given her a heart attack that morning, after he had hopped into the shower with her; she hadn't been expecting him to do that.

She bit her lip and looked around, either out of awkwardness, or from wanting to make sure that no unwanted spectators were watching them. She reluctantly removed her clothing and lowered herself into the pool, Ace had been right, the water was warm.

He greeted her with a kiss as he wrapped his arms around her, "So how'd you find this place, Ace?" She asked quietly, "You seemed to know exactly where you were going," She looked him up and down, "And what you were doing."

"Rev and I used to come here when we first got our powers, to test them out, and to test out Tech's newest inventions, da three of us just decided to have a look around one day, and I stumbled across this...well, more like I stumbled _into _it, but dat's beside the point." He smiled.

Lexi giggled, "So where was I when you guys were doing this, I would've liked to come along."

Ace frowned, "Oh. We had always figured dat you wouldn't be interested. I did ask you a couple of times though, when we first became a team....but dat was when you were still closed off, and you didn't spend much time with us....I'm guessing it was because of what had happened recently back home?"

"Yeah." Lexi sighed, "I was pretty miserable...and untrustworthy of you, I shouldn't have been, though, you guys were always so nice – you still are. But I guess I was just...nervous about living with a bunch of guys that I didn't know, and you're all older than me...and because of the _thing _that happened."

"Don't worry, Lex, it's in the past now, it won't happen again – at least while I'm here. But, I was quite concerned about you, there were lot's of times where I wanted to talk to you in private, to ask you what was wrong, and whether there was anyt'in' I could do to help, or whether one of da other guys was intimidatin' you, or bullying you or somet'in'. But whenever I asked you to come and talk with me alone, or even if I made eye contact and tried talking to you, as your leader, you just...pretty much _vanished._"

Lexi frowned, "D-Do the guys still think I'm like that with them? I Mean, I've told _you _what happened, and why I was miserable for so long, but I haven't told them, what if they think I'm hiding something important from them?"

"Lexi, I've never heard any of them mention anything about dat; it was just under three years ago, anyway. And I don't t'ink they remember you being so miserable back then, since you're so great now." He smiled and kissed her.

"Yeah," She frowned, "But maybe I should tell them...I mean, I'm sure my family might think that I have told you guys, and my Dad's bound to bring it up at some point – and it might be awkward if he does, and the others don't know what he's talking about."

Ace kissed her again, "Only tell them if you feel comfortable with telling them, I can even tell them if you want, to save you da...awkwardness and slight embarrassment." He half smiled at her.

Lexi's expression brightened, as she looked up at him with hopeful eyes, "Are you sure?"

"Of course." He smiled.

"Thanks."

There was silence for some time, as the two looked at each other, Lexi resting her hands on Ace's shoulders, while he played with her ears and ribbon as they rested against her back. They took in the other's appearance without a word as they enjoyed the feeling of closeness, and the soothing sensation of the other's touch.

"Ace..." Lexi finally broke the silence, quietly, "D-Do you somehow feel..." She looked up, trying to think of a word, "...awkward..." She made brief eye contact with him, before reverting her gaze to his chest.

Ace looked at her with confusion, "No...Why?"

Lexi shrugged before looking up at him again, "I don't know...I...I kind of...do"

"Why, Lex?" Ace looked at her with deep concern, worried that there was something wrong, that she felt uncomfortable.

She shrugged slightly again, "I guess maybe it's since I've never swam...naked...with a guy before...or with _anyone _for that matter."

Ace smirked, "Oh, I thought with you and your friends back in Utah being as crazy as you make out, you might have with some of your 'guy friends'." He raised an eyebrow at her.

Lexi gasped and pushed him back, under the water, before swimming down with him, and returning with him as they breached the surface again, "No!" She smirked, as she flicked water out of her hair and eyes, "You're so mean!"

"And stunningly handsome." He laughed.

Lexi raised an eyebrow, looking as though she considered what he said, "Yeah, that too." She smiled

"Good." He immediately pressed his lips against hers, placing his hands on her cheeks as he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, as he slowly, and gently, pressed her against the side of the 'pool'.

--

"That's Hercules"

"And dat's Cassiopeia– dat one with da bright stars dat's shaped like a 'W'"

"And that's Orion."

"Where?"

"That one right there, you see the one with the three stars in a row," She turned her head to look at him, "That really bright one is 'Betelgeuse."

Ace and Lexi were wrapped up in Blankets as they spotted constellations up in the sky above them, using their fingers to trace the shapes of where the stars formed the pictures which gave the constellations their names.

"So, Lex"

"Hmm?"

"How do you know all of these constellations? I mean, I've named like...two, and you know of loads!" He smiled at her with intrigue.

Lexi snuggled closer to him, "My Dad and I used to star gaze a lot, and when I was like... eight he used to tell me the names of them, and tell me why they got their names, along with the mythology that went with them – things like that."

"Oh." He nodded his head, "So are you and your Dad pretty close, then?"

"Yeah." She smiled, "I am with my whole family. We kind of act more like a bunch of friends than a 'family unit', obviously Mum and Dad are still the ones in charge, but we all get along well, and we spend a lot of time together, too....well, we used to..."

"Yeah." Ace sighed, and frowned, "Well at least you'll get to see them again."

"Yeah, and tell them I'm..."

"...Don't even say it." Ace stopped her. He brushed her hair out of her eye, "Remember, Lex, I don't want us gettin' upset about dis tonight."

"Yeah, Ace, I'm sorry." She kissed him and frowned, thinking of something.

"What's wrong, Lex?" Ace sat up and looked down at her, noticing her visibly saddened features.

"I just - sorry for talking about the whole..._thing _thing again - but this is important; Ace, Sam is my twin sister, but she's also like...my _best_ friend, and I want to see her again, but on happier terms than the pregnancy news. Could we ask them to stay for a few days, at least that way I can catch up with my family, and they can look around, before we break the news to them?"

Ace smiled, "Sure." He looked up to think for a minute, "How long has it been since you've seen...." He snapped his fingers, trying to jog his memory, "Leah? Yeah, Leah - How long has it been?"

"The same amount of time it's been since I've seen my family and other friends: Three years." She half smiled.

"Well....since she's your best friend, and Alex's sister, they mustn't have seen each other in a while – so why don't we invite her too? It might be handy, two doctors dat you know and trust in a situation like dis."

Lexi beamed and hugged him, pulling him down to her level so that he laid on top of her as she kissed him and hugged him happily, "Thank you, Ace, thanks so much!"

Ace leaned up and smiled, before kissing her again, "So...do you t'ink they'd be free to come over some time soon? I recently E-mailed my family, they've wanted to visit for a while now anyway, and they've wanted to meet you guys, so I'm sure they're free to come. But what about your family? I mean, Leah, Sam and your brothers might be a bit busy with their jobs..."

Lexi looked up to think, "My sister only really has work to do occasionally, I mean, she's a well known composer with the film industry, so they often hire her, but she usually has quite long deadlines, and she works from home; so she'll be fine with coming. My brothers...well the airbase they train at isn't too far from town, and so sometimes I'd drive up to see them, or to pick them up, and a lot of the guys there like me, and miss me _apparently_, so I'm sure if my brothers tell them that they're planning to come and see me, they'll be able to. But I think the hardest to get to come here will be Leah, she's only recently become a surgeon, too, so she might be expected to do quite a lot of work...unless she can somehow ask for a bit of a break – she has been working hard anyway."

Ace nodded his head in confirmation, "So what's the likelihood of your family actually being home when we call them?"

"Pretty good," Lexi smiled, "The only other place I can imagine them being is in Phoenix visiting my Mum's brothers and siblings....and perhaps they could be in Franklin, in Tennessee, visiting my Dad's brothers, but that's the furthest away they'd be, and I doubt they'd be there for too long; Sam can pretty much work from anywhere as long as she has her guitar and laptop...and sometimes a piano, whereas my brothers probably can't stay away for too long since they have their training to do."

"What about your Mum and Dad, you said they worked, too."

"Well yeah but my Mum runs a small corner store with Leah's Mum, and sometimes my grandma helps out too, so my Mum can be away from home for a while. And my Dad, he's a cop, but they don't really get that much trouble back home; and I'm sure the police force can survive without one cop, anyway."

"Okay." Ace smiled, "So I guess we're gonna have to tell them soon, it's better for it to be sooner rather than later, and at least if we call soon they'll be able to have a chance to sort out when they can all get here, and how; and then we can finally get a date for when dis whole shebang happens!"

"Yeah." Lexi smiled as she stared off into space, "So what about your family? You know loads about mine, I've hardly heard much about yours."

"So much for '_let's not talk about dis tonight'"_ Ace chuckled, Lexi giggled too. "Well...my Dad's an actor, my Mum doesn't work, so they just travel around together to wherever they need to go when my Dad's hired. My uncle, who I used to live with before I moved here, and my cousin live in Florida, right by the sea. My cousin is a surfing instructor, while my uncle's an architect."

Lexi smiled and nodded her head as he spoke, "So...what are they like and...Umm....how do you think they're gonna...umm...react...to the news?" She stuttered as she spoke, not exactly making eye contact with Ace, as she was worried about his reply to her query.

Ace rubbed the back of his neck and looked up to think, getting off of Lexi and sitting beside her, "Umm...honestly, I don't t'ink they'll be as upset and angry as your family will be, since it's not their son/nephew/cousin dat will be going through a lot of physical...changes...and...Pain..." He winced at the last word, "But I t'ink they'll still be pretty surprised and disappointed dat I let dis happen."

Lexi frowned and looked down, "Ace..."

"Yeah?" He said softly, looking at her with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Will...what do you think you're parents will think...about...me, I mean, surely when they find out about this, they'll judge me in some way, won't they?"

Ace gave her a guilty smile as he picked up and stone and began fiddling with it in his hands, whilst looking up at the calming, starry sky above them, "My dad used to always expect a lot of me, sometimes even more than I could physically do. When I tried to get into da movie business, and wound up being a stunt double, he didn't seem pleased. But I don't know what he'll t'ink of you..." he looked at her and frowned, "If anyt'in' I t'ink he'll probably focus more of his anger on me, and probably just complain that I didn't listen to the important t'ings he told me, and dat I've disgraced him somehow..."

"...What?" Lexi whispered, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She crawled over to him and hugged him, "Why would he be so disappointed with you? Why, _is _and _was _he so disappointed with you?" Her sadness quickly started to turn into anger, "There's nothing wrong with you, and you're perfect in every way, Ace! What – Why would he..."

"Lexi," Ace sighed, rubbing her back gently, "Don't be like dat, he can just get a bit stressed sometimes, he's proud of me, of how I've been able to lead this team, and do so much better in life than he ever imagined I could, and besides, if he got annoyed my mum and uncle would calm him down – they're good at seeing da rational side in t'ings."

Lexi's mood seemed to brighten, "Are you sure?"

"Positive, Lex."

She nodded and smiled at him.

"So....." Ace said casually, looking at his watch, "You wanna get some sleep?"

"Yeah, have you got anymore blankets? I'm a bit cold..." Lexi replied, looking around their 'campsite'. After swimming, they had returned to their previous spot, where they had eaten, and had packed away their rubbish, and laid an extra two blankets on the ground to serve as some sort of comfortable place for them to sleep for the night.

Ace had folded up his jacket and was going to use it as a pillow for himself, he knew that Lexi would use him as a pillow anyway, and so he didn't even bother to say anything – with how cold the desert could get, he wanted her to leave her jacket on anyway.

"Yeah, I t'ink so..." Ace stood up, and checked the compartment in his motorcycle for any blankets, he managed to find two. They would have had an extra four, but they had left two by the campfire, (Which was now beginning to smoulder as it ran out of wood to burn) to dry after they had gotton wet when the two had swum in the 'pool' earlier.

He bent down and laid the extra two blankets over the previous two, which were currently covering Lexi, before he returned to his past position, and lay down next to her.

She immediately scooted over to him and rested her head on his chest, wrapping the blankets around her shoulders, but still making sure that they weren't covering Ace's face, but they didn't leave his arms, legs on any other part of his body exposed to the cold desert night.

When she was satisfied that all was well, she ran her fingers long the fabric of his shirt, she wasn't used to him wearing something over his torso when they slept, and she usually loved to run her fingers along the soft fur on his chest, and use her finger to draw patterns on his fur – like she used to do to one of her mother's suede coats when she was younger.

She stroked the bones of his ribcage which she could feel, and gently probed the areas of muscle on his torso, she loved how secure and safe he made her feel - She enjoyed how much stronger he was than her, and how if the two of them ever had to life heavy groceries when it was their turn to shop for the team's food, he was always the one who lifted the heavy items for her, while she carried the light-weight, and less awkward bags.

She liked how Ace, especially, and the rest of the team, made her feel so physically different – their bodies were built in such a way that they were taller, and more muscular than her; while her body was built purely for bearing, and for taking care of any children that she would produce – which was the traditional role for a woman, while a man's was to provide for his family, and protect them – which in some ways, still occurred , but not to the extent that women and men were considered completely and utterly different from each other.

Lexi smiled to herself, she knew that Ace would be a good father, he would know not to expect too much of his son or daughter, but would still be encouraging and help their child in any way that he could.

She did wonder how _she_ would fare as a mother, technically she already was one, but she already began to doubt how she would be able to cope in the later stages of her pregnancy, when delivering the baby, and looking after it as if grew from a defenceless infant, into a child, a teenager, and an adult.

Would she be too protective? From her own experiences, she would hate for it (If it were a girl, especially) to be out alone at night.

Would she become depressed? She had heard of post-natal depression, her mother had suffered it once, and Lexi worried whether hers would be serious enough that it could affect her health, or the baby's.

Neither she, nor Ace had had a bad childhood, they hadn't grown up with negligent or abusive parents, but, loving and caring parents, in good homes, with all of the care that they needed. And so she knew that she and Ace would know how to raise a child in a healthy manner, and that they would do all that they could to look after it.

And that last thought was a comforting one to Lexi as she finally gave her troubled mind a rest, as she drifted off to sleep...

* * *


	29. Closeness

**Sorry for the huge delay, I had so much school work and so little time to myself - not to mention time to write this chapter, but I'll try my best to be more hasty in uploading the next chapter, but as I'm sure you know, some things can't be helped.**

**As for this chapter's content, it's slightly different from my usual stuff, but I've been reading a lot, and watching a lot of TV, so I've picked up a few things that I couldn't help but add in!**

**WARNINGS: CONTAINS SECUAL REFERENCES, INNUENDOS, AND MATURE CONTENT - READER DISCRETION ADVISED.**

ENJOY - AND SORRY FOR THE HUGE DELAY!

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

The sun began to rise over the horizon line and cast its morning glow on Acmetropolis – and two rabbits, fast asleep on the desert floor.

Ace opened one eye in annoyance that the sky above them, which _was_ dark yet covered in thousands of stars last night, that was now becoming brighter and brighter with each passing second.

He grumbled as he sat up, feeling Lexi's head lift up slightly, too, as she too sat up and glared at the area surrounding them. "Who," She yawned, "turned on the sun?" She said through half-shut eyes.

It took Ace a moment to answer, as he was too tired, "Don't know, I wish we had curtains right now, though – I want to sleep more." He yawned at the end of his sentence.

"What time is it?" Lexi asked, as she rubbed her eyes.

Ace grabbed his watch from beside him; he had taken it off last night so that sleeping would be more comfortable, "About five past four."

Lexi groaned, "Well there's no way in hell that I'm getting up this early." She looked at the motorcycle, and then back at Ace, "You wanna risk driving back to HQ?"

"Risk?" Ace looked at her in confusion, "What risk?" He yawned again.

"That one." Lexi smiled, "You're tired, I don't want you to drive unless you really want to...or feel that you have to."

"I'll manage" He said as he stood up. They had cleaned up all non-essential items last night before sleeping; it was only the blankets that they were using that they needed to pack away. "Do you mind if I pack those up?" Ace asked slowly, his fatigue showing.

"Sure." Lexi smiled, getting up, "I'll help."

The two folded up the blankets in silence, as they put the last in the compartment under the seat, Lexi looked at Ace with concern, "Are you a_bsolutely sure _you're okay with driving?"

"Yeah." He smiled as he put his helmet on, "Da wind in my face'll wake me up." With that he pulled up the glass screen which covered his face, and kissed her.

--

Lexi and Ace walked into their head quarters' main room, quietly, not wanting to wake any of their comrades.

"Whoa!" Lexi loudly whispered as she tripped over, Ace whipped his head around, he had been holding onto her hand, but as she fell, her hand slipped out of his grasp.

Ace quickly bent down beside Lexi, their main room was dark, but he could vaguely make out the shape of her body and head.

Lexi sat on the ground, rubbing her leg as she leaned closer to it to see why it was causing her discomfort.

Ace was unsure of what to say, the obvious questions being: '_Hey, are you ok?' _– But it was obvious she wasn't. Another question sprang to mind, '_What did ya trip on?' _– But neither of them could really see around themselves very clearly.

Instead Ace sat beside her and rested a hand on her leg in the place that she was rubbing, and gently moved her hand away, before carefully placing his own hand over the wound.

He kept his hand there for a few moments, before moving to roll up her trouser leg so that he could inspect her leg.

His eyes glowed yellow as he used his enhance vision to see against the light, but he sighed and returned her trouser leg to how it should have been.

"I can't see properly in dis light, I'll check it in my room." He stood up and held a hand out for Lexi, who smiled before reaching out to his outstretched hand.

--

Lexi pulled off her jeans whilst sitting down on Ace's bed; Ace himself proceeded to turn off the main lights in his room, as he walked over to where Lexi was.

When the room suddenly turned black, Lexi hesitated, "I think now we're back to the same problem as before." She laughed as she spoke.

She stood up when she felt Ace nearby, only for her to be greeted with a kiss as he pressed his lips against hers, while his hands encircled her waist and rested on her backside. She was about to pull away to speak to him, but found that what she had to say could wait, she liked the feeling of closeness with him.

Still kissing him, but holding onto his shoulders for support, Lexi stepped back to kneel on his bed, drawing him closer to her. Ace smiled whilst kissing her and pressed his weight onto her until he was on top of her.

He continued to kiss her, until Lexi pushed him up slightly and giggled, smiling at him, "Calm down, I can't breath through my ears y'know."

Ace smiled and shook his head slowly while looking down at her, he bent down to kiss her again, as he played with her fingers and hands as they held his.

Eventually Lexi signalled for him to stop, and looked as though she was attempting to catch her breath. When she had somewhat recovered it, she rolled to the side and turned on Ace's bedside lamp.

Lexi sat up, having to push Ace up as she did so, and sat on the pillows in front of him, while he leaned over her. She held a leg up in front of him and raised an eyebrow, "Forgetting something?"

"Oh, right!" Ace smiled as he got off of her. He studied her leg until he came across an area with fresh blood on it. He licked his thumb and wiped some of the blood away with it, parting the fur around the cut, so that he could examine how large it was.

"Does it sting?" He asked, looking up at her.

"A little..."

He half smiled and thought for a moment, "Does dis help?" He kissed the cut on her leg, before looking back at her.

Lexi smiled and nodded, "A bit."

Ace smirked, "Well what about dis..." He licked the cut and looked up at her, she bit her lip and smiled at him, Ace then began to lick the rest of her shin.

He was stopped when she pulled her leg back, "Hey!" She looked at him with a smile, "I am not a lollipop!"

Ace smiled back at her, "Sorry, I guess."

Lexi scooted over to him, "For what?"

"Dat" He smiled, looking down at her.

Lexi blushed, "It wasn't actually that bad, just...._startling_."

Ace smiled and looked quite pleased with himself, "Great, I am _da king_!"

Lexi laughed and punched his arm lightly, "What's gotten into you?"

"I don't know" He smiled, as he turned his body to face her, "Maybe your crazy pregnancy hormones are brushin' off on me."

Lexi nodded and smiled lovingly at him.

"I had a really good time last night, Lex." He leant forwards and kissed her on the cheek.

"Isn't that because we kinda went at it like rabbits in that pool?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

Ace laughed, "Maybe."

"Well, I had a good time too, Ace, so thanks." She held her hand in his, "It's funny, 'cause I know like...old couples say this when they've been together for _years_, but..." She looked at him in the eyes, "I feel like I'm falling in love with you all over again, Ace."

Ace smiled back at her, "Same." He leaned towards her as if he were going in to kiss her, and Lexi responded by moving closer to him, only to be surprised by him kissing her nose and moving back – away from her. He quickly removed his shirt and jeans, leaving himself in his boxers, before he kissed her again – properly.

When he pulled away, Lexi smiled at him. She turned around to look at the clock on Ace's bedside table.

05:17AM

Lexi sighed, "We've been up for an hour now, we're probably not gonna be able to get back to sleep now." She glanced at him, "If only there was something that we could do so we could sleep again – you know - something that will make us get tired."

She crossed her arms over her legs, "But what to do, I mean, it's just you and me, alone, together, sitting on a bed for if we get tired."

Ace was listening intently, wondering what game she was playing; he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't _somewhat_ confused, he understood the innuendos, but not why she wouldn't just come out and say what she was implying.

Lexi suddenly visibly perked up, snapping her fingers, "I've got it!" She turned to face him. "We should play a game of scrabble."

Ace gave her a confused, yet surprised stare.

"Oh wait..." Lexi's tone changed, "....That's too much fun. Oh what to do, what to do..."

Ace smiled at her before pushing her back so that her head rested on the pillows, as he began to kiss her, fiddling with her shirt with his hands. He pulled away after a few seconds of kissing her, "You know Lexi, you don't have to put on an act, just ask."

Lexi smiled up at him, "I know, but it was fun."

Ace smiled whilst rolling his eyes at her; as he bent down to kiss her again.

--

07:00AM

Zzzz

Zzzzzzzzzz

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ace whacked the alarm so that it stopped beeping. He groaned as the light reached his eyes, reminding him that, once again, he had to get up.

It was safe to say that he was in a much brighter mood than he had been the previous time he had woken up that morning.

He stretched out his legs and one of his arms, looking down at his other arm which was wrapped around a fellow bunny's shoulders.

Lexi was sound asleep, with her head pressed against Ace's shoulder, and her arms resting on his torso. The white sheet covered most of her arms but still enabled Ace to see the tops of her cream-peach coloured arms.

Ace used his free arm to rub his eyes, before placing his hand on top of one of Lexi's arms. He rubbed it gently, noticing how thin her arms were in comparison to his. But this, he assumed, was because he had more visible muscle on him than she did.

Lexi stirred beside him, and opened her eyes, before leaning up on his chest and kissing him. Ace was amused at how she looked: hair ruffled, while one ear was bent beside her right eye, and the other rested behind her on her back. To him, she looked rather funny.

"Good job, buddy." She said brightly, despite her tired appearance. She smiled at him as the two high-fived.

Ace smirked; it was even funnier now.

As they had developed more feelings towards each other – intimate feelings, as opposed to friendly companionship which they had once shared – the two had made a sort of tradition of coming out with a meaningless comment, and a high five, the morning after they made love. Ace thought that perhaps it was just a giddy feeling of closeness which had caused the strange tradition to occur, while Lexi believed that it was just an ice breaker from the awkwardness - at least, that was what she used to think it was.

"Well you're in a bright mood dis mornin', missy. What's up?" Ace asked as he sat up.

Lexi smiled at him as she kissed him again, "I really don't know, Ace." She giggled to herself quietly as she sat up.

"Well, it's definitely somet'in'." Ace kissed her on the forehead before swinging his legs over his side of the bed, and standing up.

"I just feel really close to you right now, Ace." She smiled.

Ace turned around and stared at her, "...In what way?"

"Last night." She shifted herself closer to where he was standing – whilst staying under the covers, "I felt different, something..._seemed _different." She smiled at him.

He smiled back.

--

'_What's up with all the babies? Is there something going round right now, or something? They're everywhere; and they're getting annoying - especially all the ones that can't stop screaming...' _Lexi walked through the park, her arms crossed over her chest with annoyance; she glanced from side to side at the families with children, babies, and toddlers.

Some children ran to and fro, laughing and squealing with joy and exhilaration, while toddlers took their first tentative steps across the soft grass, while their parents smiled and spoke words of encouragement when they fell.

Lexi smiled as she watched a family, the father holding his daughter's hands gently, yet firmly, as she struggled to balance on her feet, while her mother crouched ahead of the two, perhaps three feet away, holding a teddy bear, which she shook slightly now and again, as she smiled and held her arms out for the child.

Lexi tilted her head in slight admiration, the parents were so empathetic, they didn't expect their child to walk right then and there, nor did they not encourage her to keep trying, they smiled when she tried to walk without her father's aid, but they offered support and hugs when she fell.

The anthro studied the child's movement, her innocent features, yet content expression, but also her determination to achieve her goal – to walk to her mother. Yet every time she fell down, she wouldn't cry, nor would she be disheartened, on the contrary; she stood back up, shakily, and started again.

Lexi earned a wave from the couple when they noticed her watching, Lexi smiled and gave a slight wave back, before she began to turn away, out of embarrassment. She didn't want them to think that she was spying.

Lexi continued down the tree-lined path, having to pause from walking as two young boys ran just in front of her legs, she smiled as they passed, before walking again. She heard a faint 'Sorry', from an older male voice, perhaps the father.

Lexi sighed, she had never been a child-loving person, and it wasn't that she disliked children, but it was that she always had a fear of dropping a child, or a baby, if she held it. Though some people found it odd, others shared the fear.

She could recall when one of her aunts gave birth to a son when Lexi was sixteen, her aunt and uncle had driven from Phoenix to introduce their extended family to the new arrival. And while her parents, and brothers held the tiny boy, Lexi objected when she was given a chance to hold him, her sister, Sam, was the same, she also didn't want to hold the baby, but purely for the reason that she disliked the thought of baby vomit – not from fear of holding the child. Even some of Lexi's friends, who were around her house when her uncle and aunt had arrived, held the baby.

Lexi held her arm, she had heard people say that your views of other children change when you have your own, your instincts and feelings change, and suddenly the thought of a baby vomiting on you isn't a turn off, and you don't fear holding it because you know that you would never drop such a fragile creature.

Yet somehow she thought she was incompetent.

Lexi felt insecure, she didn't feel up to the challenge of being a mother, she knew that young mums struggled to raise children, even with their partner by their side; but Lexi felt that she lacked wisdom, and knowledge of both pregnancy and child care – she felt alone, she couldn't talk to her mother about it, not until she knew...and depending on how her parents reacted, she might not even get the opportunity to ask for help at all.

Lexi knew her mother well, she was very maternal, when Lexi and her friends were younger, her mother would mother her friends, giving them advice, and encouragement and love. Lexi didn't feel as though her mother, no matter how disappointed she would be, would abandon her during such a time, but she was unsure about her father.

Her father was a loving, caring man, who she, her family, and her friends respected a lot, but her father could also be very strict and even intimidating when he was exceptionally mad. And Lexi feared for Ace, his parents, and the rest of her team, she knew that her father wouldn't take her pregnancy as good news, and he'd be very angry, and would most probably lecture, or even shout at her, but be much more aggressive towards Ace.

Lexi sighed, she loved her dad, he was great, loving, kind, caring, supportive, and protective of his family – including a pregnant daughter – and Lexi began to fear whether he wouldn't want her around Ace, or the rest of the team, and that he would want her to return to Utah.

She frowned; he could do that, '_Could he?'_

--

"So, Ace, how was your 'first' date last night, 'eh?" Duck raised an eyebrow and winked at his leader.

"DUCK!" Ace yelled, "I _really_ don't t'ink dis is da time!"

Ace and Duck were currently between the claws of a giant, out-of-control robot – much like the 'Robo Amigo' that they had fought a year ago.

The large robot had accidentally been modified, and grown to a huge size, bursting through the roof of the factory where it, and others like it, were being manufactured, and it had began to walk down a street of downtown Acmetropolis – Which was why the Loonatics had been called.

Jet pack bound, the Male Loonatics had reached the area of disruption, but firing both weapons and powers at it, had merely angered the robot, and it had managed to swipe out at them, where they immediately scattered - but not before the robot had grabbed Ace.

Duck, being...Duck, had attempted to save his leader in a 'heroic' fashion, but had consequently gotton himself trapped too.

"Hey, we've hardly had a chance to talk all morning!" Duck argued as he turned awkwardly to face his leader.

"Duck, we had breakfast together!" Ace hissed.

Duck pouted and sighed, "Yeah, but everyone else was there, which includes Lex, and you know women, they don't like their personal information to be shared with others, especially if it involves relationships!"

Ace raised an eyebrow, "So how long did it take you to work that one out, five months...years...." He glanced up at the robot.

"...Five _minutes_!" Duck shouted, "After Lexi brain-blasted my tail-feathers off, that Christmas."

"Oh yeah," Ace chuckled, "I remember dat."

"Tech!" Duck shouted across to the canine of the team, who was recovering after being thrown against a window, "Have you got _any _gizmo to get us out?"

Tech shook his head, "Not with me, I hadn't actually planned for..._this," _He pointed at Ace and Duck, "To happen."

Duck groaned, "So _now _you come _un_prepared. Nice one, genius."

"So what does that make you, Mr 'Ace! I can get you out by quacking myself right into the same spot as you, and making this thing too tight for you to be able to quack us out again'." Ace frowned.

"Hey, I had good intentions."

There was a grumble of intelligence from Slam, as he suddenly flew close to the Robot's neck, having commanded Rev to fly in front of it to distract it, where Slam could have the opportunity to punch the robot's neck – Which Slam had identified as its weak spot.

He was right

One punch was enough to release the robot's grip on Ace and Duck, as the robot began to emit large sparks, before it's blue eyes faded to a black, and it tumbled to the ground – were it sprawled itself, lifeless, along the very road which led to the park.

"Great Job, Slam!" Ace cheered as he gave the Tasmanian Devil of the team a high five.

"Yeah! Nice-one-Slam-that-was-great-how-you-figured-out-it's-weak-spot-and-punched-the-life-out-of-that-thing,it-was-so-cool, you-must-have-hit-the-thing-hard-for-it-to-'die'-like-that,-no-wonder-you're-a-champion-of-a-wrestler!" Rev exclaimed in delight.

"Yeah...." Ace said awkwardly, before gesturing that the Loonatics descend.

Upon touchdown, Tech inspected the robot to check that it wasn't about to get up, upon hearing confirmation that the area was safe, Ace asked the rest of the team whether they had seen anyone underneath the robot's 'landing site' before it fell, incase someone could be trapped underneath it.

Witnesses also stated that they saw no one underneath, which made Ace breathe a sigh of relief. "Okay, well dat's dat taken care of, now we need to..."

"Ace!"

Ace paused, hearing his name be called out by a familiar voice that seemed too close for his comfort.

"Guys?"

The entire team turned towards the direction of the park as they heard the familiar voice again. No one else was near by, and so the voice had been easy to hear and the sounds of feet, running towards their direction were easy to determine.

Lexi

The blonde bunny, clad in her uniform like the rest of the team, like she had been all morning, ran towards them, "Guys, what happened, are you okay?!" She called as she ran.

When Lexi stopped before the group, she was greeted with smiles from all except Ace. With a frown he walked over to his female companion, and crossed his arms over his chest when he arrived in front of her.

Lexi looked taken aback by his expression and stance, along with the rest of the team, meekly, she voiced her thoughts, "Ace...is there something wrong?"

"Lexi, what are you doin' here? You could've been killed!"

Lexi jumped when he raised his voice, "How, Ace?"

Ace pointed to the heap that was the robot, which lay sprawled out over the road just a few metres beside them.

"We were on a _mission, _Lex, you know dat it's dangerous, you should've stayed at home!"

Lexi furrowed her eyebrows, "So you want me to stay at home, because you're on a mission, and _apparently_ I'll be safe..._there_." She pointed towards the tower.

Ace nodded and looked as if he was about to speak, but Lexi interrupted him, crossing her arms as she spoke, "...Well, I'm glad to hear that you care about all the other millions of innocent people here that _also_ could've been killed."

The male and female rabbits glared at each other, the rest of the team becoming somewhat uncomfortable and concerned.

"Come-on-guys, it's-no-big-deal, -let's-get-out-of-here." Rev placed a hand on Lexi's shoulder as he gestured up to the sky which was beginning to darken as clouds rolled in from the south.

"Yeah, good idea, Rev." Ace spoke monotonly as he activated his jetpack– the jets opening out by his shoulders.

The rest of the team followed the actions of their leader, all but Lexi; who was without a method of transport, she had walked to the park that morning.

Ace hesitated, looking at his partner, "Lexi, do you need a lift?"

Lexi looked at the five faces of her fellow team mates; all turned to her. She sighed and gave Ace a slight glare, "I'll walk."

Ace bit his lip, "Maybe dat's not such a good idea – I'll..."

Lexi slumped her shoulders and sighed, "Ace, I got here by myself, I can get home by myself – I don't need a guide!"

Ace's stance shifted slightly, rather than poised and ready like he was previously, he looked more saddened and protective, sighing, he replied; "Keep in contact – be careful, please, Lex" He activated the jets on his jetpack, and suddenly a roaring emitted from his jetpack, along with those of the other teams', as they slowly lifted off the ground, "I love you, Lex!" Ace called down to her.

Lexi merely waved before walking away.

--

"Can you believe that tension back there?" Duck said as he slid the jetpack off his arms, "I mean, talk about _awkward_!"

"_Duck_, I'm right here!" Ace glared at the waterfowl, the quintet were standing in the hanger, having flown in just moments ago. They were putting their jetpacks on their respective shelves, when Duck came out with the loud comment.

"Sorry, Ace" Duck spoke meekly, receiving a glare from his leader, before following Ace and the others out of the hanger. Duck regained his composure enough to ask: "What's up anyway, she seemed really angry." He gasped and acted surprised, "What did _you_ do?!"

Rev and Tech gave each other suspicious glances as they turned to face their leader, while Slam stood by the rabbit looking confused. "Lexi agdguy?"

Ace glanced at the Tasmanian devil and sighed, "Yeah, buddy, she is angry. But maybe it's just da hormones, y'know." He shrugged. Ace turned around and began to walk towards the main room, before turning around and facing his team.

Rev, Tech, Slam and Duck noticed their leader's look and stood to attention, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Umm, guys...While Lexi's not here, I do have somet'in' I need to talk to ya about, it's pretty important." He eyed his watch, "But I do want to keep an eye on da time, it shouldn't take Lexi more than ten minutes to get here, and I want to make sure she gets home okay, I don't want somet'in' to happen."

Ace glanced at his watch before looking back at the rest of the team, "Tech, can we talk in da lab?"

"Sure, Ace." Tech replied as they turned to walk the few steps towards the lab.

Once inside, Ace began to speak. He looked uncomfortable, and paced the area by the door for a while, "I'm not quite sure how to say dis...umm..." He rubbed the back of his neck in thought.

With a sigh he turned to face the rest of the team, "Do you guys remember when we first got together as a team, and Lexi was quite....quiet and...Distant?"

They all nodded

"Well, I've got da explanation to dat..."

--

Lexi sighed in annoyance as she felt another raindrop land on her fingertip, she held her hand out in front of her, feeling the few drops of rain as they fell from the darkened sky. She knew that it was only going to get heavier, and she still wasn't too close to home.

"Damn it." She muttered as she began walking again, _'Maybe I should've gotten that lift...'_

She walked hastily now, through the quiet, desolate streets. As the rain got heavier she walked faster, until her pace had quickened to a run, as she used one arm to cover her hair as it hung down it front of her eyes.

She finally reached the door to the headquarters, and swiped her key card into the door. She slipped in before the pneumatic doors had even finished opening, and headed straight for the elevator, where she selected the one hundred and twenty-fifth floor, and the elevator began to ascend.

--

"...Oh and guys." Ace called out to the rest of his team as they left the lab, "Lexi's really sensitive about this, so please don't say anyt'in' to her, or act weird around her." He turned around, "Especially _you,_ Duck."

Duck didn't reply, he didn't know what to say, he merely nodded in response as Ace left the corridor and entered the main room; leaving the rest of the team to look at each other, and in mutual agreement realise how lucky Lexi was that she was with someone like Ace

--

Ace straightened up when he heard the sound of the elevator arriving at that floor, and he knew that it wouldn't be long until Lexi walked through the door.

When the pink bunny did emerge, Ace, who had been standing right by the door to where she would be coming in, immediately pulled her against him as he kissed her deeply.

"I'm sorry Lexi, I..." Ace started when he had pulled away, but Lexi interrupted him.

"It's okay, Ace." She looked up at him, "I get it, you were stressed out, it happens to all of us. And I know you were just trying to keep me safe."

"T'anks, Lex." He kissed her again, but Lexi's face hovered close to his when he had pulled away – she was so close that their noses were almost touching.

She quietly whispered to him, not breaking eye contact at all, "But thank you for the apology." She placed a hand on his chest, "And I still owe you for helping me with my leg this morning – Perhaps that'll be my thank you, to you." She smiled at him and kissed him.

Lexi turned around, suddenly realising that they had an audience, Ace, who hadn't noticed his comrades' arrival, was taken aback as well; and he placed a hand on Lexi's shoulder and stood slightly in front of her – anticipating _something _from his team mates.

Like a lightining flash, Rev appeared in front of Lexi, and hugged her tightly, picking her up as he did so. "Oh-Lexi-you're-okay-I'm-so-sorry-if-I-ever-did-anything-to-make-you-upset-or-uncomfortable-I-know-how-hard-it-must-have-been-for-you-and-I'm-so-sorry-that-I-wasn't-there-to-help-you-or-make-you-feel-better-or...whoah!"

Rev's rant was interrupted as Ace and Tech managed to pry the fast talking bird off of Lexi, and hold him still.

"Okay, I can breathe now, thanks guys." Lexi wheezed. She turned to Rev, "What was that about?"

Rev looked rapidly back and fourth from Lexi and Ace, and began to sweat with anxiety. "...Umm-I-missed-you?"

Lexi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and glanced at her watch, "Rev, thanks, but I was gone for thirteen minutes."

"So much for playing it cool, Rev." Duck moaned, he stood a few metres away from the group with his arms crossed. "And you didn't trust _ME_!" Duck pointed at Ace.

"Sorry, Ace-Lexi-sugar-rush-hee-hee." Rev grinned at the bunny duo as Ace crossed his arms in annoyance at the bird.

"Sugar rush?" Tech repeated, "Slam did you put sugar in his tea, again?" Tech turned to Slam who stood behind him.

"Er, yerh blag de la...yeah." Slam nodded.

"Oh joy." Duck moaned again whilst face palming himself.

"Riiiiiiiiiight..." Lexi nodded absently, "Well I'm cold, so I'm gonna have a bath and probably watch TV afterwards so..." She gave a final glance at her team mates, "Bye."

She started to walk away before Ace called her back. The leader distanced himself slightly from his team mates and turned towards Lexi.

A large clap of thunder stopped him from speaking, and he and Lexi naturally turned towards the window just as rain began to pour down the windows and lightning flashed across the blackened sky.

"Whoa-Tech-look-at-that-thunderstorm-I-mean, Isn't-the-shear-power-of-those-thunderclouds, scientifically-called-cumulonimbus-clouds, spectacular!" Rev jumped up and down in excitement as he stared out of the window.

"Yeah." Tech eyes the bird, "No more sugary tea for you..." He muttered to himself.

Duck drew the attention of all the Loonatics to himself, as he let out a tremendous gasp of excitement, "A thunderstorm, that means....Misty Breeze will do an 'on-the-spot' weather report from the central park, and I will watch it live!" The waterfowl teleported to the sofa and sat down comfortably before switching on the television and gawking at the blue-haired figure on screen.

Ace and Lexi gave the duck confused looks before returning to look at each other, "Lexi, you said da night before last dat you would call your parents today."

"Oh yeah." Lexi replied, "Shall I do that now or..."

"...I was just remindin' ya, you don't have to do it now. You wanted to have a bath anyway."

Lexi looked up at him for a few moments, "Ahh, screw it; I'll call them now." She walked over to the kitchen and reached for the phone. With it in hand, she sat down at the table, Ace sitting beside her, and she began to dial for home.

--

A phone rang in an almost full house, all of the rooms smelled of a mixture of barbequed meat, and cologne; and voices of many people could be heard coming from other rooms – voices of both males and females, joking and laughing about things which anyone outside of their friend circle would barely be able to comprehend.

A woman took an oven dish out of the oven and sighed at it, remembering a night similar to this one, but three years ago, when one of her daughters had offered to return the dish to its owners – on the other side of the small town.

The woman sighed, but turned her attention, finally, to the phone mounted on the wall beside her.

"Hello?"

"_Hey mum, it's me, Lexi...have you got a second?"_

* * *


	30. Reaction

**I guess it didn't take me too long to write this chapter, sweet!**

This chapter has left a few questions unanswered, as well as a bit of a cliff hanger, but you all will find out about this soon!

**WARNINGS: CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT AND 1 SWEAR WORD**

ENJOY

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

_"Well of course I've got a second for you, Lexi. How are you honey?"_

Lexi pulled a face, "Fine...I guess."

"_Are you sure, hon, you don't sound it."_

Lexi rested her head in her hand, Ace put an arm around her, "No, mum its fine, it's just a bit rainy here at the moment, I guess the weather's been getting me down."

"_The weather channel says it's the hottest Acmetropolis has been for five years, Lexi, it's still not as hot as here, but still."_

"Well," Lexi sighed, "I guess it's something else, then." She made a grim face at Ace, and put her hand on the phone so that her mother couldn't hear her comment, "Ace, I've never been this nervous when talking to a family member."

Ace half smiled, as he couldn't think of anything to say in response, and rubbed her back for comfort when she began to speak into the phone again.

"Mum...I can hear you in the kitchen, are you sure this isn't a bad time, I can call later..."

"_I told you Lexi, its fine, I haven't spoken to you in four months, I want to know what's happening. Did you speak to....umm...oh, what was his name?"_

"Ace."

"_Right, that's it. Did you speak to him about how you feel?"_

Lexi glanced at Ace, "Oh, Boy did I." She rolled her eyes and subconsciously placed a hand on her lower abdomen. Ace noticed this and sighed.

"_And, what happened?"_

Lexi felt her heart drop into her stomach; she grimaced before speaking, "One second."

Lexi turned to Ace with a horrified expression on her face as she held the phone, once again, in such a way that her mother couldn't hear their conversation, "Ace, she wants to know what happened after we went out...as in, after we became a couple." She whispered frantically.

Ace bit his lip, "Tell her it's fine...and that you'll tell her all about it when she comes over. That way you're not really lying you're just..."

"...Avoiding the truth." Lexi sighed, "Good idea."

"Yeah, mum, I'm back...sorry...I had to speak to someone."

"_That's okay hon; so, carry on from what you were saying."_

Lexi bit her lip, "You know what mum, I'll tell you all about it, when all of you guys come over here."

"_Lexi, hon, honey...what do you mean? Are you inviting us over?"_

"Yeah," Lexi said happily, suddenly the thought of seeing her family again seemed fun...for a while. "Yeah, you know, just for a couple of days, so you can meet the guys, and we can catch up – I haven't seen you guys in..." She gulped...

"_Three years." _Her mother replied sadly.

"Actually, "Lexi started, "More two years, thirty-five weeks and four days. But, you know, that's just a rough guess..."

There was some hesitation before Lexi's mother spoke again, "_Do you and Sam get _any_ stranger?" _The woman chuckled.

Lexi smiled, "...Well...yeah..." She laughed. Ace smiled at her.

"_So honey, when would you like us to come?"_

"Umm...well, sooner rather than later would be best..." Lexi glanced at Ace as she spoke.

Suddenly both Ace and Lexi's head turned towards the TV, as the rest of the group had found a film that they were watching, and the sound of an explosion and a machine gun had drawn the attention of the two bunnies towards the TV screen.

It was loud now, and combined with the thunder of the thunderstorm, and the pelting of the heavy rain on the windows, made talking somewhat difficult.

"Come on." Ace took Lexi's hand and led her back to his room where they could talk without the sound of the TV interrupting them.

"_Lexi...Are you there?"_

Ace and Lexi sat down on his bed, "Err, yeah, mum, sorry – Went to another room, it's pretty noisy, there's a thunderstorm outside right now and the guys are watching some action movie – it's getting pretty hard to hear"

"_Oh, ok hon. So about us coming over...when..."_

"...You know, any time this month's good."

"_Lexi it's the twenty-eighth...do you honestly mean this month...or do you mean next...?"_

"Err, yeah, I do. Thanks mum."

"_Well...it looks like June's free from any major events, how does the sixth sound?"_

"Yeah, that's fine." Lexi smiled.

"_How long will we be staying?"_

"However long it takes..." Lexi muttered.

"_What was that?"_

"Umm...nothing, nothing...However long you like...a week, two weeks, whatever's good for you."

"_We'll come for a week, but I'm sure you won't mind us doing washing if we stay longer, do you?"_

"No, mum, that's fine. Hygiene's always good."

There was a moment of pause from both mother and daughter.

"_Lexi, honey, are you still there?"_

"Yeah."

"_I need to serve up this food, your father's up on the roof cooking, and everyone else's...somewhere. Is it okay if I go, I'm sure you can talk to them later."_

"Yeah, mum, that's fine. Oh, but also – can you see if Leah can come too, I miss her, plus this way she can see Alex again." She smiled.

"_Okay, hon – I'll ask her. Well, it was lovely to hear from you again, I'll send your love to everybody, and we'll be seeing you on the sixth, then."_

"Yep." Lexi smiled.

She sighed as she hung the phone up, before looking up at Ace. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at her saddened expression, "Lexi, what's wrong?" He placed a hand on her cheek.

Lexi put her own hand on top of his, "I...I don't know. I guess I'm kind of nervous about them coming now, because this all seems so real now, but...when I thought of seeing my family again while I'm here...I had never anticipated that it was going to be...because of this." She sighed and placed a hand on her lower abdomen.

Ace frowned, and was just about to speak, when a large rumble of thunder erupted from just over their head quarters, and a flash of lightning lit up the sky which the two bunnies could view out of Ace's window.

In a split second the lights and all other power within Ace's room went out. The two bunnies could vaguely see each other because of the slight light coming from the window, and the occasional flash of lightning from outside.

Ace furrowed his eyebrows, "That means our defences are down." He stood up and took Lexi's hand, leading her out of his room at a fast pace before meeting in the main room with Tech, and the other team members standing a few feet behind him.

Ace let go of Lexi's hand and looked around, "So everything's out?"

"Everything." Tech responded, "But I do have a back up generator that should keep our tower's defences up, but it will only last for twelve hours."

"I thought they only used back up generators in hospitals?" Duck walked forward to speak to the two anthros.

"I did a little bit of thinking after our encounter with Melvin last year." Tech made brief eye contact with Lexi, who had been affected the most by Melvin the Martian's arrival when he had made a deal that she were to stay with him to be his gaming partner, in return for the Martian to not blow up, or shrink the planet.

"So what do we do now?" Lexi asked, she looked at all of her fellow team mates.

Ace walked over to the kitchen and opened up a cupboard before returning with a flash light in hand, "We find candles and more flashlights, for starters."

--

"Oww, damn what was that?" Lexi accidentally pulled on Ace's arm as she tripped over. The power was still out, and the Loonatics had departed to their rooms for the night. Unfortunately, though Ace had enhanced vision and knew where he was going...Lexi didn't.

Ace turned around and looked for her, his eyes finally landed on the floor in front of him; he quickly bent down to see if she was okay. "Lexi...are you alright?" He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Lexi stood up shakily and looked down at herself as Ace stood up. She then looked back at him and smiled, "All good."

Ace smiled and took her hand again, pulling her closer to him so that it would be harder for her to fall, as they walked from the 'corridor' of Ace's room, into his main bedroom.

"Well, I'm gonna go and brush my teeth." Lexi let go of Ace's hand, and kissed him before heading towards the bathroom.

"I'll grab your pyjamas from your room, Lex. Then I'll join ya." He smiled at her and left the room.

--

1:07AM

Lexi sighed and rolled onto her back again, she placed a hand on her stomach and stared up at the ceiling, hearing nothing but the soft, rhythmic sounds of Ace's breathing, and his steady heartbeat.

She looked over at Ace, seeing his chest move up and down with every breath; and decided not to wake him. She kicked off the sheet and slid her legs over the side of the bed, grabbing her pyjama pants from the bedside cabinet and putting them on; the start of Summer had been very warm already, and it was only May, and the nights were beginning to become uncomfortably hot.

Lexi placed a hand on her forehead and sighed again, the room was hot and the air for humid and sticky, making sweat appear on Lexi's fingers when she pulled her hand away from her forehead.

She walked over to the window, but upon realising that it was still raining outside, she reconsidered her idea of opening the window to let cool air into the room – and instead opened up one of Ace's cupboards and took out the electric fan, plugged it in and turned it on.

She stood in front of it for some few minutes to feel the cool air on her back, before glancing at Ace and leaving the room.

She headed to the Kitchen and stood at the steps for a moment, deciding what to do. She took out the bread from one of the cupboards and placed it in the toaster, before turning the toaster on.

She stood by the window and watched the rain fall from behind the curtain while she waited for the toast to finish cooking. But when she heard the familiar sound of the toast popping up, she returned to the bench top to retrieve it.

Her super hearing picked up the sound of movement coming from the lab, as Lexi took her toast out of the toaster. Curious, and in need of conversation, Lexi took her plate with the two slices of bread resting on it, and started for the lab.

She pressed the locking button on the centre of the door, which opened it, and she walked in. Had she and Ace, or she and Rev not gone to find Tech to ask him to accompany them on an outing on so many occasions, Lexi wouldn't have been able to know where she was going – the main lights in the Lab were off even though the power had been restored in the very late evening – the bunny couple had discovered that when Ace attempted to turn his lamp on, and realised that it did indeed work. But the only light source within the large, dark room was coming from a small source at the back of the room.

Careful not to step on any wires which littered the floor, Lexi manoeuvred around bench tops which she could remember the placements of, and walked towards the light.

Eventually she turned a slight corner and saw Tech leaning over a desk, lit by a single lamp, looking busy at work. Lexi stood and watched him write for a couple of moments, before setting down the plate of toast quietly on the bench next to her, and walking over to him.

She was about to greet him as she walked up to him, but found that out of the corner of his eye he must have noticed her already, for he jumped and looked startled for some few seconds, before shooting her a confused, and slightly unimpressed look.

Lexi gave him a guilty and apologetic look, "Sorry Tech..."

Tech rubbed his eyes and sat so that he was facing her, "Don't worry about it, Lexi; you just startled me, I didn't hear you come in."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Wait, what are you doing up?"

Lexi leant back on the bench top behind her, "Couldn't sleep, it's too hot tonight, plus I got...hungry." She frowned.

Tech smiled and shook his head at her, "Please don't tell me that you're embarrassed by that, Lexi."

She didn't make eye contact with him and looked off to the right, "Then I won't say anything."

"Lexi," Tech sighed, "Why would you be embarrassed? What's happening to you in your state is normal, you can't control it – and you can't ignore it either."

"I'm not ignoring it, Tech, I'm..." She sighed and placed a hand on her forehead, trying to think. She removed the hand from her head and rested it on the bench top, "I guess..." She sighed in defeat, "...I don't know." She mumbled.

"Lexi..."

"I don't know, I guess I just feel kind of...embarrassed....that I'll be eating loads and getting weird mood swings...it'll be like puberty all over again, except I'll be...like..._huge_!" She sighed, "And I'm just used to being able to eat food and not really put on weight...but now..." She subconsciously placed a hand over her lower abdomen, Tech noticed this, "I don't know...it'll be weird."

Tech stood up and walked over to her, "Are you worried that we'll..." He looked to the side to think, "...judge you or something?"

Lexi nodded, "But it's not just that." She mumbled. "It's going back to...like...tribal times but..." She bit her lip and sighed before looking at Tech in the eyes, "You know there's the whole, Men did the hunting and providing, while Women looked after kids and did the less...physical work..."

Tech nodded.

"I don't know whether it's because of natural selection with early humans and animals, where the males would pick the most attractive female to be their mate, or whether it is just some weird psychological thing women have – because none of my brothers or guy friends from back home have ever really complained about their appearance...as far as I know – But I know I have, and my twin, and little sister have, and my best friend Leah has...but..." Her eyes moved back to the floor to the right of her. She sighed, "I guess that I'm worried that..."

"...We won't find you attractive?" Tech finished.

Lexi shut her eyes in defeat and slumped her shoulders, "Yeah." She mumbled, "I know it's stupid..."

Tech leant on the bench top to the side of where Lexi was leaning, "Lexi, Scientific fact _does_ prove that a man does find a woman more attractive when she's pregnant – I'm not sure whether it might be due to increased levels of hormones and pheromones, or what it is – but it's true. And Lexi," He turned to the side to face her, "You're a sensitive, empathetic person, I'm sure you don't want other men checking you out anyway – Ace loves you for exactly who you are, so don't worry about what anyone else thinks of you, I doubt he's the kind of person who'll only love you because of what you look like – he's not shallow like Duck and people like him."

Lexi half smiled, "I guess you're right."

Tech smiled, "And Lexi, with regard to the rest of us, we're your friends, we don't care what you look like, and we can all understand that this is hard for you, and Ace. We won't think any less of you because of this, nor will we think that there's something up with you if you do occasionally get emotional – be it anger or sadness." He smiled at her.

"Thanks, Tech." She smiled at him. "If you don't mind...I wanted to talk to...someone about something else that's really bugging me."

"Sure, shoot."

"Do...do you think that, being in my pregnant state, I shouldn't be going on any missions, Tech?"

Tech looked taken aback by the question, "That's not really for me to decide."

"Tech, please, just your personal opinion, please."

He looked down, "I'm not sure, Lexi." He looked back at her, "There would be circumstances where I think it would be fine for you to be on a mission with us – but others I'd not want you on. I understand that in your current state," He looked her up and down, "There are no physical signs that you're pregnant – and a villain being able to notice that, and being able to single you out because of that – thus making you vulnerable to attack are what we're concerned about. But right now, no one would be able to tell, but it's still easy for you to hurt yourself, or be hurt, and possibly miscarry the baby."

Lexi's features saddened as she stared at the ground below her.

"Remember, Lexi, though you may think that you're capable of looking after yourself, that kid in you – its life support system is you, and if anything were to happen to you, via you being physically hurt, or having something harmful getting into you, that child in you is going to suffer as well – and in its current development stage, it is vulnerable – that's why its recommended that women don't fly during their first and third trimester because they're the stages in the foetus' development that it's the most vulnerable to abrupt, unnatural, and violent movements."

Lexi sighed, "I guess you're right." She moved away from the bench top and stood in front of Tech, who still leant against the object, "It's just that, the times that you guys have been on a mission without me, I've felt lonely and scared that something bad might happen to you – and then I need to do something to get the thought of your..._demise_...out of my head. That's why I went to the park yesterday."

Tech half smiled at her, "I guess I can see how that upsets you. Some of the times that I've been alone here monitoring or building something whilst watching the news, occasionally I've worried about seeing one of you be badly injured...or worse. But I've had something to do, you don't – I can understand how scary those thoughts must be to you."

"Exactly!" Lexi took a step closer to him.

Tech smiled at her reaction, but then frowned, "You and Ace seemed to have a bit of a confrontation yesterday regarding your visit to the park..."

"Yeah." Lexi replied glumly, "What did you make of that, just out of pure curiosity?"

Tech looked up to think, whilst lifting himself up so that he sat on the workbench which he had been leaning on, "It was slightly awkward – I could agree with both of you. I admit that Ace was over-reacting, and that you had a point – anyone could've been hurt, not just you. But I also agreed with Ace in the way that...maybe he didn't like the idea of you being out alone without any of us knowing about you being out."

Lexi, whose eyes had moved from Tech's face as he was talking, to the ground, now looked up at him with a suspicious glance on her face, "He told you...didn't he..."

"Yeah...why, did you not want him to?"

"No, I mean yes ...I asked him to tell you guys instead of me, that subject makes me uncomfortable."

Tech wasn't sure what to say in response to that, and so he nodded. There was an awkward pause between the two after that neither was sure of what to say to one another with the sensitive topic which had just been briefly mentioned.

"You and Ace are okay, now, right, Lex?" Tech asked after some time.

"What do you mean?"

"After the argument on the mission, you're not still mad are you?"

Lexi shrugged and sat up on the bench top as well, "To be honest, I'm still a bit pissed with him, I mean; I just want to help out and not have to worry about you guys. When regular women get pregnant they go on a maternity leave when they're a few months pregnant..."

"...But Lexi, they would be doing other jobs, like working in an office or something like that, doing much less physical and dangerous jobs like what we do."

"True..." She looked down, but then up at Tech again, "I'd just like Ace to realise that I can look after this kid and not every decision I'm making will potentially kill it – I do know what I should and shouldn't be doing, I just wish he'd give me a little more freedom to make my own decisions."

"But Lexi, remember, Ace doesn't have the same physical, and mental connection with his child, and he won't until it's born – you, however, do because it's living inside you, and you posses the necessary..._equipment_ which will allow it to live, but that will also mean that you'll have various hormones circulating in you that will change you, but also give you a special connection with your child – and maybe Ace just wants to do what he can to look after both you, and the baby – Perhaps he almost feels threatened by the way that he can't defend it, which he would naturally have the instincts to do, the same with how he wants to protect you and make sure you're always safe and okay. And until the baby's born, he won't be able to establish a proper attachment with the baby because as far as it goes, he has nothing to do with it – physically – though it is made up of half of him, it's not living in him – therefore he has no way of...getting to know it."

"I guess." Lexi frowned, and folded her arms on her legs and stared around the dark and empty lab.

"Are you nervous?"

Lexi looked taken aback when she stared at him in shock, "What? No, I trust you, Tech, I..."

Tech chuckled, "...No, Lex, not here, I mean...with the whole being pregnant thing."

"Oh that." Lexi smiled, but then frowned, "Hell yeah, I don't even know half of what's happening to me. I always listened in health class, and biology, but they never taught us what pregnancy would be like, and how I would feel."

"What do you mean?"

"Well for one, I really need to talk to my mum, or someone who I trust, with experience of the whole being pregnant thing – so I'll have to speak to her when she get's here. But also," She turned to look at him, "I think I'm already getting mood swings, I mean, lately I've been feeling kinda sad about this whole mess, so I usually talk to Ace about it, and so we have talk about all of this, but then we end up..." She blushed.

"What?"

"Umm..." Lexi looked down at the small space between them, and then back at Tech, and moved closer to him slightly, "I end up going from feeling really sad about this, to suddenly being super horny – I mean, do you know what that's like?!" She looked him up and down before he had the chance to answer, "But then again, you're a guy, you probably do." She smirked at him.

Tech smiled, "I'm sure that's normal, Lex."

"I hope so; otherwise I might be turning into a schizophrenic." After a moment of silence, she turned to look at him again, "How are the other's taking all of this, do you know?"

"After we all found out from your friend..."

"Alex."

"Yeah, after we found out when it was due, and you and Ace had gone to talk, we did all talk about all of this."

"And..."

"Rev and Slam were pretty much just as shocked as I was, but Duck kept going on about how we should've anticipated it because the two of you are rabbits, and then...he tried to work out when it would've been...conceived."

Lexi blushed, but looked obviously hurt upon hearing that news as her posture became tensed but submissive, and she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from Tech.

Tech became worried, he jumped off of the bench top and looked at Lexi, "Don't worry about what he said, we set him straight – he won't say things like that, again."

"It's not that." Lexi mumbled.

"Then what is it?"

"It's kind of personal, and...I'm sorry, Tech, but maybe I should talk to Ace about it first..."

"There's no need to apologise, Lexi, I understand."

"No, but I don't know how he'll take it – It's to do with the baby...but only a little bit...it's...more to do with it's...conception..."

"What do you mean, Lexi?" Tech sounded stern, "Is Ace not the father?!"

"What? No!" She sighed and slumped in posture again, "He is, it's just that...it's to do with the thing that he told you about today..." She looked up at Tech slowly, "The thing about me...back in Utah..."

Tech furrowed his eyebrows for a second, and then gave Lexi a concerned, yet horrified expression, "Ace didn't do that...to...you...did he?"

Lexi's eyes widened, "No, no he didn't, he never would, it's just..."

"Lexi if he, or anyone did anything to you that you didn't want them to do..."

"I know Tech, it's an offence, and it's sexual assault – trust me, I've had this conversation with my dad a lot." She sighed, "Look, never mind. I'll talk to Ace about it, I'm sure he'll understand...I think it's important that I let him know first..."

"Okay, Lex." Tech half smiled at her, "But if you ever need to talk, don't be afraid to bother me." He smiled at her. As he looked at her, he noticed something near her arm which rested on the table, and walked around her to inspect it.

He picked up the plate and looked at her, "Toast? When did I..."

"...Oh, sorry, Tech – that's mine, I made it when I woke up 'cause I was hungry – but then I heard you and figured I could talk to you." She picked up one of the pieces of toast which already had some of it missing from when Lexi ad eaten some earlier, but offered Tech the remaining slice, "Toast?"

Tech gave er an amused look and looked at the slice, "Thanks....are you sure you don't want it?"

"Nah," Lexi smiled at him, "I'll make more if I need to – it is cold, though, Tech." She added the last part when he was about to pick up the slice.

The two sat in silence for some moments, before Lexi decided to talk to Tech again, "So why are you up so late?"

Tech rested the remainder of his toast on the plate and turned to her, and swallowed before speaking, "I don't know, a thought just came to me – and I decided to start making plans." He shifted closer to her, he checked his watch, "And it's getting pretty late, I should pack this stuff up."

"What were you working on?" Lexi smiled at Tech and walked over to the work bench.

"No, Lexi – please don't!" Tech managed to jump in front of her and stop her from looking, he held her shoulders, "It's...a...surprise. So please...don't look."

Lexi smiled at him, "Okay, Tech."

He smiled back at her, and removed one hand from her shoulders, keeping the other where it was. He looked at it for some time, and Lexi looked at him, their faces only inches apart as they studied one another.

She smiled at him before a sudden realisation came to mind, and she stepped back, away from him. His hand fell back from her shoulder and she stared at him in shock. "What...what was that?"

Tech stared at her, confused, "What?"

Lexi began to slowly back away, "Tech...I...I don't wanna sound insensitive....but...I know that situation...and...And I know what was gonna happen..."

Tech rubbed the back of his neck, "...Yeah..." He looked up at her, "Was that just an example of your mood swings, 'cause I have to be honest with you, Lex, I've never really felt anything for you..."

Lexi hesitated, and stuttered before answering, "I don't know." She frowned at him and glanced at a wall clock mounted on one of the lab walls, "It's late...I should go before Ace wakes up and wonders where I am."

Tech nodded, "...See you..." He looked at the clock, "...later, Lex."

"Bye."

--

Lexi sighed as she opened the door to Ace's room, she walked in and looked at Ace, he was still asleep, but had removed the sheet from covering his torso, obviously he was hot.

Lexi smiled at him and walked around the bed until she reached her side, she was about to climb in, but decided to look out of the window to see if the rain had stopped yet.

She pulled off her pyjama trousers first, knowing that she would get hot later, and made a small gap in the curtains to look through. She stood there for a few moments, gazing out at the city below her – the clouds which had soaked the city earlier had now rolled away and revealed the glowing full moon above, which allowed silvery moonlight to cast its glow across the large expanse, whilst allowing puddles of water, and droplets to shimmer in the light.

"Holy cheese!" She jumped when she felt arms around her waist and warm breath on the back of her neck, "Ace!"

Ace smiled and rested his head on her shoulder, until she turned around; he gently pulled her against him and rested his head on top of hers, "Where were you?" He spoke quietly.

"I got hungry, so I went to get some toast, then I heard noises in the lab, and I ended up talking with Tech for a bit."

"_A bit_." Ace stepped back from her, "Lexi I woke up just after you left here, and I kept an eye on the time, it's...it's 2:43 AM, Lex."

"I'm sorry, Ace, I lost track of time." She sighed.

Ace looked her up and down, "I don't need you to apologise, I just wanted to know whether you're okay, you seem edgy."

"I'm fine, Ace."

"Lexi..."

"...Really, Ace!"

He sighed, "Okay." He wrapped his arms around her again and hugged her, before kissing her.

Lexi rested her head on his shoulder as he rubbed her back, and shut her eyes from the relaxing notion she felt as he rubbed her back. Moments later he scooped up her legs and held her in his arms as he stared out of the window, and then watched her as she eventually drifted off to sleep.

He smiled at her and sat down on the bed, still cradling her in his arms. In the end, he gently set her down on the bed and lay down next to her, resting a hand on her lower abdomen as he further contemplated an idea that had been forming in his head for many weeks...


	31. Feelings

**Wow, I'm on a role, I got this one done quickly! **

**Although...now I have a day to do 8 homework pieces...DX Oh well, I'll get them done**

**Once again, I apologise for the cliff hanger, but I think it makes for an interesting ending to the chapter...**

**WARNINGS: CONTAINS SEXUAL REFERENCES, SUGGESTIVENESS, INNUENDOS, NUDITY AND MATURE CONTENT**

**READER DISCRETION ADVISED!**

**ENJOY**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

08:49AM

Lexi dropped her uniform on the floor and sighed, before stepping into the shower. She adjusted the shower head so that the water would run down her hair and ears as she stood and allowed the water to soak at her exposed fur, and the skin beneath that.

'_Lexi looked down at the small space between them'_

'_And moved closer to him slightly'_

'_He shifted closer to her'_

'_He held her shoulders'_

'_He smiled back at her, and removed one hand from her shoulders, keeping the other where it was. He looked at it for some time, and Lexi looked at him, their faces only inches apart as they studied one another.'_

Lexi sighed and looked to the floor. She had just remembered some of the events of last night, with Tech – and how awkward she felt looking back on it.

Some of the more subtle things, such as the two of them moving closer to one another, Lexi didn't realise their impact until now. But when they had looked at each other, and were so close, Lexi felt guilty. Nothing worth regretting had come out of it, yet Lexi felt distressed, she didn't want to tell Ace – but she knew she would have to eventually.

She looked ahead of her, noticing movement, as the door to the bathroom opened and Ace walked in. He was blurred because of the water and condensation of the glass shower walls, but Lexi knew it was him.

She smiled as she saw him remove his boxer shorts and step in the shower with her, "Morning, beautiful." He kissed her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Lexi giggled and smiled at him, "Morning." She placed her hands on his shoulders and pulled him against her gently, "I love you, Ace."

Ace smiled and kissed her neck, "I love you, too." He kissed her again, "So what were you dreamin' about last night?"

Lexi pulled away from him and gave him a strange look, "Okay, that was a random question – where'd that come from?"

"Last night, I was t'inkin' about..." He glanced at her, "...Somet'in', and then you started talking...its funny, but you kept saying somet'in' about Tech." He raised an eyebrow at her.

Lexi blushed, "Weird." She shrugged.

"Lexi," Ace sighed, "You were with Tech for a long time last night..." He held her shoulders to make her look at him, "Not'in' happened between you two, did it?"

"...No..." Lexi stuttered and broke eye contact with him.

Ace furrowed his eyebrows, "Lexi?!"

Lexi sighed and grabbed the soap, "Just let me wash and I'll explain when we get out of the shower."

--

Lexi pulled on her uniform pants just as Ace was putting on his shirt, "Ace...Tech and I were just talking..."

"...And?" Ace raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

Lexi looked up at him and stood up, putting her shirt on, "Look," She stood against him, "...admittedly...Tech and I..." She looked to the floor.

"What did you do?" He gave her a slight glare.

"Not what you're thinking, that's for sure."

"Then what _did_ happen?"

Lexi sighed, "...You know what, Ace. Nothing happened, okay – Absolutely _nothing_, we _did_ spend a lot of time talking, and we did kinda...move to sit closer..." She glanced at him, "I don't know why, though." She looked back at him properly, "But it was nothing that you need to get upset about. I mean, Ace, seriously, do you really think that I would do anything to jeopardise our relationship – Ace, you're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time, and I've never felt the same way about someone in the way I feel about you." She smiled at him. "I mean," She walked up to him and put her hands on his chest – "You're the only boyfriend I've ever had, and you're the only one I'd ever want."

A certain thing she said made Ace hesitate before answering; he wrapped his arms around her, "...T'anks" Ace smiled, he kissed the top of her head.

"You wanna grab some breakfast?" Lexi asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah." Ace smiled, "but let's just sort out dis stuff first, I know you put your stuff back, but can you give me a hand, he gestured to some of the articles of clothing, and the towels on the floor.

"Sure." She smiled, she bent down and picked up the towels and proceeded to put them on the towel rail.

"_You're the only boyfriend I've ever had". _'_That's not right.' _Ace thought, '_Lexi's beautiful, and she seems to have so many 'guy friends' – Surely someone would have been out with her. I've had _a _girlfriend, but Lexi hasn't had a boyfriend? – That just seems...weird." _He sighed and put their dirty clothes in the laundry hamper by the door.

He smiled at Lexi as they began to leave the bathroom, a thought crossed his mind, '_Maybe she was waiting for the right person?' _

'_Am I it?'_ He stopped in his tracks; Lexi gave him a confused look when she saw the look on Ace's face.

"Ace?" She stood in front of him and took his hands, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Lexi, sorry." He smiled at her, "I'll just do da curtains." As he walked over to the window to open the curtains and blinds, but then remembered something else that Lexi had said, "_You're the only one I'd ever want." _'_She's almost twenty, why would she wait twenty years before she would have her first boyfriend? Surely she had one in high school...and...why would she date someone for the first time, be with them on the night of their first date, and not freak out when she found out she was pregnant with his child?' _He thought.

He turned around and walked back to Lexi and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked out of the room. But Ace never let go of his thoughts on Lexi. These thoughts contributed to the musings that had plagued his mind the night before, about a decision he needed to make.

--

Ace bit his lip when the bunny couple approached the kitchen and main room area, Ace could smell coffee – and he knew that its smell would make Lexi feel sick. He glanced at her and continued walking, recurrently glancing at her until they reached the kitchen, playing close attention to her facial expression and body stance in case she looked sick.

'_So far, so good.' _He thought as he took her hand and smiled at her when they entered the kitchen area. "Mornin', gang." Ace smiled at his team as they walked down the steps into the kitchen.

There was a selection of '_Morning'_s from the group. Tech, Duck and Rev, who were standing by the bench tops and waiting to prepare, or finish cooking their breakfast, gave Lexi once swift look, before glancing at each other, and pouring the contents of their white coffee cups into the sink; setting down the mugs by the basin.

Lexi frowned at them and sat down in a seat by Slam, "Guys, you didn't have to..."

"...Lexi," Tech interrupted her, sighing, "just stop, we've talked about this," He glanced at Ace who gave the coyote a slight glare, "your needs come first, and if the smell of coffee's gonna make you sick then we can't drink it around you."

Lexi felt a lump in her throat as she stared down at the table, not knowing that her expression had changed until she heard Slam speak to her.

"Blah ger Lexi sad?" He frowned at her.

No matter what he said, Slam had always managed to make Lexi smile one way or another, and this was no exception. She gave him a gentle smile and sniffed, "No, Slam; it's just my hormones acting up."

She looked over to where Tech and Duck were when she heard her name mentioned by the waterfowl, who immediately gave her a guilty look when he noticed that she had heard him, "Damn her super hearing..." Duck muttered.

Though normally such a comment would have made her smirk, somehow it seemed to worsen her mood as she sighed, but apparently she did so too loudly; as Slam immediately stood up from his chair, walked up to her, and hugged her, lifting her at least a foot off the ground as he did so.

Lexi, though taken aback, smiled at his gesture and laughed.

Ace, who had been keeping a watchful eye over Lexi to check that she was okay, laughed from his position by the toaster. Had any of their other team mates hugged Lexi in such a way, he would've felt threatened and perhaps even angry; but Slam was always innocent at what he did – when he ate food and cleared out the contents of the fridge, when he laughed at accidents involving Tech's inventions or Duck's mishaps, when he played sports with Rev, and when he trained with Ace. It almost seemed as though it was impossible for any other team to be mad with Slam, for they all loved him in a friendly way, perhaps because of his innocence and desire to always make his friends happy.

Truthfully, Ace didn't think that Lexi and Slam spent a lot of time together, and it wasn't because neither liked one another, on the contrary – a lot of the time the two acted like best friends. But because they had quite opposing tastes, they couldn't find much in common – which was why Ace tended to pair the two up a lot on missions.

When Slam did eventually let go of Lexi, he gently set her down on her feet and gave her a toothy grin before walking to the fridge to get his breakfast.

Ace walked over to Lexi and gave her a hug himself, "So are you okay, now?"

"Yeah." Lexi smiled.

"Good." Ace kissed her on the lips and smiled back at her.

"Ugh," Duck said in disgust, looking at the couple, "Can't you guys get a room?" Duck grumbled as he set his plate of pancakes down on the table, "There are people _eating_ here!"

"Oh, Duck, give it a rest – I'm sure you'd make out with the TV screen if Misty Breeze were on it." Lexi smirked.

"I'm pretty sure he already has." Tech smiled as he sat down opposite to the waterfowl, Slam laughed in his seat as he shovelled a stack of five pancakes into his mouth.

"Oh, don't make me fight you, Blondie." Duck hissed as he glared at Lexi.

Ace furrowed his eyebrows at Duck and stood slightly in front of Lexi, in case Duck were to be true to his word.

"Relax, Ace." Lexi smirked at her partner, "We all know who'd win in _that_ fight. Kinda like the time I whooped his ass in the training room, right Duck." She smiled at him.

Duck's eyes widened.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Lexi grinned as she moved to stand by one of the benches, "Was that a secret you told me to keep and never tell _anyone_?" She raised a hand up for a high five, "Guess this means I've got you back for all those things you've done to us, am I right!"

"Hell-yeah!" Rev laughed as he ran over to give Lexi the high five she was expecting from one of her team mates.

Duck crossed his arms over his chest, "You seem really cocky for someone who got knocked up on her first date." He raised an eyebrow at Lexi, who frowned and automatically turned to look at Ace, but the female bunny was forced to look back at the waterfowl when he continued to speak; "And don't even try to get _him_ to look after you, Lex, he does that so often it's like he thinks you're so defenceless that you can't even tell me to 'stop being mean to you'" He stood up from his chair, "And another thing..." He was interrupted when Slam pulled Duck back into his seat and growled at him. That was when Duck finally registered the fact that the four of his male team mates were now looking at him with fierce expressions on their faces. "Well it's true..." He said meekly.

Rev turned to look at Lexi, "Lexi-are-you-okay-you're-crying?!"

Upon hearing that, all turned to face Lexi with concerned expressions. Lexi wiped her eyes with her hands and pushed off from the bench top, "I already said, it's just hormones..."

"...Lexi" Ace started as she walked by him, intending to leave the room.

"Ace, I'm fine." She continually spoke dismissively about her emotional state, despite the obvious fact that she was crying. She continued to cry as she left the kitchen area, and was out of sight from the rest of her comrades.

Ace glared at Duck, "You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you?" He frowned at Duck whilst sending him a vicious glare, before turning around and pursuing Lexi.

To Ace's surprise, Lexi wasn't in his room, but her own. He opened the door, noticing that the curtains were shut, and walked in quietly, hearing the sounds of crying coming from the hammock.

He walked over and saw Lexi sitting on her hammock, with her head in her hands. Ace frowned and walked over to her, sitting on the hammock beside her. He didn't say anything, and wrapped his arms around her until she was huddled against him and crying against his shoulder.

Ace tenderly stroked her hair and rubbed her back, merely comforting her and letting her cry. Before they had become a couple, Ace would regularly here Lexi crying in her room – on a monthly basis – and on several occasions he had gone in to see if she was okay.

Normally she would be crying purely from hormones as she got emotional at certain times of the month, but sometimes it would be worse – if they had had a particularly overwhelming mission, or if Duck was being more of a jerk to her than usual.

Lexi had always hated Ace- her secret crush, to see her cry, but as her leader, it was his job to see to it that they were all okay – regardless of whether what was making her unhappy could be helped or not. He had learnt that talking to her normally didn't do much, but just him being with there to comfort her usually made her feel better.

The fact that when Ace had been chosen to be the leader, and that he knew that there was a female on the team, had prompted him to read a book which focused on the differences between how men and women act and think - Though it sounded funny, it had helped Ace look after his lone female team mate on a number of occasions, as the book allowed him to understand how she thought differently to him, and how if she were upset, it was best to be there for her; instead of leaving her alone – though that did differ on some occasions.

So Ace sat with Lexi for roughly ten minutes while she cried, and not once did he ask what was wrong, and not once did he leave her side. He did have to switch positions occasionally out of slight discomfort, and on one occasion did he eventually decide to lift her up and sit her in his lap, for fear that she would hurt her neck after a while.

Eventually, as the sobs ceased, Ace spoke softly to her, "Lexi...it's a stupid question to ask but: tell me what's wrong...is it what Duck said?"

It took a moment for Lexi to answer, as she sniffed and slowly sat up she replied; "It's not that." She wiped her eyes using her sleeve, "It's this, it's all of this."

"What, Lex?"

"This, Ace: The mood swings, hormones, crying, midnight cravings...I've peed like...three times in the last hour...I keep going from happy, to angry, to sad, to horny and back again. And it's only gonna get worse, I have to tell our parents, I have to carry this kid around in me and look after it, then I have to give birth to it, and I'm terrified of all of that."

Ace furrowed his eyebrows in sadness at her, "I'm sorry, Lexi." He kissed her, "I'm really sorry." He kissed her again, "I know it must be hard, Lex, but it's normal – and I know it doesn't change da fact dat it's hard for you, but you need to know dat da guys and I all understand dat if you start crying, or you feel sick suddenly, or you lose your appetite, or if you occasionally snap at us – we won't be offended, and we're not gonna make fun of you for it." He intertwined his fingers with hers, "and I don't mind your mood swings, Lex, its normal and I shouldn't even be upset with you for anyt'in'."

"Why?" Lexi looked at him.

"You're doing _dis_, Lexi. You're keepin' this baby; despite how you really didn't want it, but because you knew dat I liked the idea of havin' a kid. What you're doing for me, Lex, is more than I could ever ask from anyone, and I don't even know how to repay you for dis. Lexi, what you're doing is amazing – and that's exactly what Tech and Duck were talking about earlier."

"When?"

"While you were talkin' with Slam, and you looked over at da two of them because you heard them say your name – I heard what they had been sayin', Lexi, they were sayin' dat they couldn't believe dat you were doing all of dis – even for me, and dat they were really happy dat you and I have made dis work, and dat we haven't fooled around over dis, and dat we haven't lost our friendship, and our love for each other over dis." He smiled at her.

"And Lexi, remember, I said I was going to tell our parents – so don't you worry about dat – besides, you and I are pretty fast at runnin'." He smirked at her and earned a small laugh out of his smaller companion, "I'm sure all of dis will get easier, Lexi – you're probably just a bit stressed out dat our parents have to know, and your hormones are pretty much all over da place right now – but I'm sure they'll settle down, it's just all of da chemical changes dat are happening in you right now. It's like puberty, you go from being a normal, happy little kid, and then you start changin', but after all of dat happens – everyt'in' sorts itself out and you're fine again. And dat's what's happenin' to you, you'll just be a little bit more emotional for a while – but it won't be anyt'in' dat you can't handle. But if it get's to be too much for you, I'll sort somet'in' out, like...just give you somet'in' to do to relax, for instance...we could go somewhere, just you and I, for a while – or you could talk to a counsellor to get all of your emotions out, or I could get you a spa session or somet'in'." He smiled at her.

Lexi smiled back, "You don't have to spend money on me..."

"...Yes I do Lex," He interrupted her, "I'm da man, I'm da _provider_ – so I am going to _provide_ you with all of da services you need no matter what da cost is, okay?"

Lexi looked reluctant.

"Lexi," Ace sighed, "I can't physically do anyt'in' to stop dis baby from growin' inside you – all that I can do is offer any assistance, look after you – keep you safe, and keep you happy. I'm not gonna let you get depressed over dis, because women can get depressed during pregnancy, and I will _not_ let dat happen to you – Lexi, you're too much of a nice person to have to suffer through somet'in' dat you didn't have a say in..." Ace paused, and stared at Lexi, who had caught on to what he had said, and also realised what he said.

'_You're too much of a nice person to have to suffer through somet'in' dat you didn't have a say in' _

"I'm sorry Lexi," He sighed, "It...Came out wrong..." He frowned.

The two sat in an awkward silence for some minutes, musing over what had been said – that key sentence – combined with what had happened to Lexi in Utah, was a sensitive topic.

Four minutes passed before Lexi leaned up and kissed Ace, and rested her hands on his shoulders; Ace looked down at her, "What?"

Lexi fiddled with Ace's shirt for a while before answering, "Ace, talking or thinking about the thing in Utah always gives me nightmares...and makes me feel afraid and alienated from everyone else...but...when I'm with you, when we're together...as in _together _together, I feel happy again...because it get's rid of all of the stress...and it...it makes me feel better..." She half smiled at him. She took a deep breath, "I don't know how to say this but...can we..?"

Ace smiled at her and kissed her fervently yet tenderly, with great care that he might kiss a new born baby with – which was ironic. He brought a hand to the back of her head, so that he was able to guide her down, and so as to act as a cushion for her (as one wasn't present on the hammock) Lexi kissed him back as he carefully placed himself on top of her, and she smiled up at him, "Thank you."

--

"Nice one"

"Yep." The two high fived and laughed, "We are such dorks!" Lexi giggled.

"Yeah, well be proud of dat," Ace kissed her, "Dat means our kid's gonna be double dat, and then we'll be an awesome family."

Lexi giggled, "You know, I've never really thought of us being a family, for some reason." She looked at Ace, "It sounds nice."

"Yeah," Ace looked at the ceiling, "Except when you remember dat we have not'in' for dis kid right now..." He looked over at her with a worried expression.

Lexi bit her lip, "Well we've still got eight months, it's not like it'll come out of me in the next couple of days...at least" She looked down at herself, "I hope not..."

Ace smiled at her, "So what are we gonna do about a room for dis kid?"

Lexi turned to him and snuggled in closer to him, "Well...if you don't mind...I was thinking that we could move some of my clothes and stuff into your room...since that's where I've been doing my sleeping lately...and then we could make this room the baby's room."

"Good idea" Ace smiled, "It'll probably be sleeping in _our _room for a while, since it'll only be young, but afterwards, we could put it's cot in here – Dis room's across from my – _our _room_, _so if anyt'ing's wrong, we won't be far away – plus, then we don't have to worry about plumbing for a bathroom when it get's older."

"Yeah." Lexi smiled, "She placed a hand on her lower abdomen, "So what do you want it to be, Ace?"

"Not mutated, dat's for sure – which reminds me." Ace turned to look at her, "Please stay away from da microwave, otherwise I'm gonna have to wrestle you to the ground if I see you anywhere near dat t'ing." He smiled at her.

Lexi giggled, "Okay. But Ace, I mean, do you want it to be a boy or girl?"

Ace sighed, "I don't know, I don't mind if it's either, really. I t'ink deep down I'd like it to be a boy, probably in da same way you'd like it to be a girl, but I wouldn't really mind it either way." He smiled at her. "What about you?"

"Same as you – I don't really mind." She looked at him again, "So what qualities do you want it to have?"

"_Qualities _– as in...What it inherits from us?"

"Yeah"

Ace pursed his lips, thinking, and then he turned to her, "I really want it to have your laugh."

Lexi raised an eyebrow, "But if it was a boy...I think he'd get teased at school for having such a girly laugh." She smiled.

"You know what I mean." He half-smiled at her, "You?"

"I really, _really _want it to have your smile, Ace."

Ace smiled, "Seriously, what is it with you and this t'ing?"

Lexi giggled, "I don't know, I just love it."

Ace laughed at her reply and rolled over to kiss her, "You're really...strange sometimes, you know?" He kissed her again.

"I know." She let him continue to kiss her until he smiled at her and whispered in her ear, she looked up at him and smiled, "Yes." She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her again.

--

"_Sooo_....twice in a row," Lexi smiled, "and this is the second time I've had to get dressed this morning, Ace." Lexi smirked at him as she put on her uniform boots, "But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the reason why I was out of my clothes." She smiled and kissed him.

Ace smiled back and pulled his shirt down to cover his torso, "Yeah."

Lexi yawned and stretched out, "Does it normally make you really tired?"

Ace gave her an amused look, "Yeah – dat's why people generally do it at night."

"Oh." Lexi stopped stretching, "I always thought it was because it was more _romantic _or something." She sighed, "Either way, I'm really tired; are you?"

"Not really," He smirked, "But dat'll make the story behind our absence more believable.

"How?"

"Well, if we were both asleep or somet'in', the guys might figure it out, but if it's just you, then perhaps they'll just assume it's because you're pregnant and dat's why you're tired."

"I guess, yeah – you're right." She smiled at him, "See, this is why you'd make a great dad."

Ace smiled back, "I t'ink we're both gonna make pretty good parents."

Lexi nodded, "Oh, Ace...I was thinking, it's just gone one o' clock – perhaps we shouldn't do...what we just did too often, otherwise the guys might get irritated by the fact that we're always gone, and what if we get a mission?"

"Well, it'll be really embarrassing for me" Ace smirked.

Lexi smiled back and giggled a little before yawning, "That's it." She declared as she walked to the door, "_I_ am _sleeping_, and nothing will stop me – can I use your bed, or..."

"...No, Lexi its fine, go ahead." He smiled at her and kissed her before she left.

_--_

The Duck, Slam, Rev and Tech stood in the main room waiting impatiently for their two remaining team mates to come.

"Jeez, what's taking them so long?" Duck looked down at his watch, "I wanna get some lunch, I'm starving!"

They all turned their attention to the corridor where the team's bedrooms were as Ace came walking towards them.

"Hey, where'd your shadow go?" Duck chuckled to himself.

Ace gave him a displeased look, "If you're talking about Lexi, she's asleep."

"Why, is she sick or something?" Tech sounded concerned.

"No" Ace smiled to himself, "She's just...very tired."

Tech nodded in acknowledgment, but luckily didn't work out what Ace meant.

"Great." Duck threw his arms up into the air in annoyance, "She always ditches, it's so annoying. Every month, on the twenty-ninth, when we do this lunch she ditches – so lunch costs just a bit more when we split the bill." He crossed his arms in annoyance, "Typical Lexi, It's like every month something's up that stops her from moving or something."

The team exchanged glances, they knew what stopped Lexi from coming sometimes, but apparently the waterfowl didn't.

"Yeah, Duck." Ace smirked, "Women and stuff dat happens at certain times of da month – it makes no sense, does it." He raised an eyebrow.

"No. And it's ridiculous." Duck stubbornly replied, "Let's go."

The team started for the door, but Ace stopped and looked back at Tech, who was the last to leave. "Tech," Ace said to the coyote of the team, "Make sure you lock dis whole place."

"I always do," Tech smiled, "Nothing'll get in."

"Good."

--

Lexi woke up to hear the sound of the phone ringing and sighed. She rolled over to the other side of the bed and picked up the phone, she was still tired; but tried her best to hide the fatigue in her voice.

"Hello?"

"_Umm...Hello, who is dis?" _A male voice answered, it had a slight accent to it.

"Lexi...from the Loonatics. Who ..."

"_...Lexi? D is da number for Ace's phone."_

That made Lexi jump, if that was Ace's parents, they'll be suspicious as to why she was in his room in the first place.

She tried her best to hide the alarm in her voice, "Umm yeah, it is...who is this?"

"_It's Kevin, Ace's cousin – I'm calling from Florida about da E-mail he sent me, he's invitin' us over."_

"Umm, yeah; that's right." Lexi sat up.

"_Do you know when he wants us over?"_

"Sorry, no. Not exactly, but I can get him to call you back when he comes home, he shouldn't be too long, he's only out to lunch with the guys."

"_And you're not with them?"_

"Umm...I just...I just don't feel too good right now, I thought it best that I stay home."

"_Oh. Well I hope you feel better, and can you make sure you tell Ace I called?"_

"Yeah, sure."

"_Bye."_

"Bye."

Lexi put the phone back and sighed, and lay back on the bed, she still felt tired and wondered how Ace was managing to not fall asleep while he was having lunch at a restaurant with the guys.

She stared up at the ceiling and suddenly felt lonely. Everything was too quiet, and she wished that she could be with Ace. So that she could hear his gentle, rhythmic breathing, and she could feel the soft fur that covered his body.

She loved to feel the warmth that radiated from him and feel secure when his strong arms encircled her as they slept, knowing that he would always keep her safe. Lexi smiled to herself and shut her eyes to sleep some more, but her eyes shot open upon hearing the sound of the locks being overridden.

She sat up, someone was getting in.

She looked at the clock, the guys had left twenty minutes ago, and she knew they wouldn't be back yet.

She considered radioing the guys for help from her com unit on her uniform which lay on the arm chair – she had put on a vest top and a pair or sweat pants to sleep in because they were more comfortable than her skin tight uniform. She glanced at her uniform, eyeing the com unit, and decided to take her chances.

As she neared the door to Ace's room, she tried her best to consider all of the possibilities, but each thought that gave her hope was contradicted by her better thinking – and she knew that the guys would have made a sound that her super hearing would have picked up.

Whoever was in the tower was being quiet about it

She took a deep breath and opened the door turning to the right to enter the main room. She tried to steady her breathing as she walked the few steps before whoever was in the main room would see her, and she powered up her brain blast in preparation.

She gulped, took a quick, shallow breath, and entered the main room, checking all around her.

He was standing not four metres in front of her, and she gasped.


	32. The Decision

**_A big thank you to 'dragonstoneprotecter' for his/her two lovely reviews, I hope you have enjoyed/will enjoy the story!_**

**_And, apologies, this is very overdue: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and faved the story, I thank you muchly for that XD_**

**_***_**

**Well, the chapter's _finally_ done, so you're cliff-hanger queries will finally be answered!**

**WARNINGS: CONTAINS SEXUAL REFERENCES, SUGGESTIVENESS, INNUENDOS, NUDITY AND MATURE CONTENT**

**THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER ALSO CONTAINS 1 SWEAR WORD!!!**

**READER DISCRETION ADVISED!**

**ENJOY**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

"Ace!" Lexi gasped, "You almost gave me a heart attack!" She walked over to him.

"Sorry, Lexi." He smiled, "I was walkin' quietly unless you were still asleep."

Lexi smiled back at him, "Oh, well I thought there was an intruder who was sneaking around, that's why I got freaked out." She hugged him, "But at least it's just you."

"Lexi," he looked down at her, "Can I just...critique on what you just did?"

Lexi gave him a confused look, "_Hugging_ you?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No," Ace looked serious, "You told me dat you thought I was an intruder when you heard me?"

"Yeah."

"Next time, Lexi," He sighed and looked uncomfortable, "Please don't just walk right through da doorway there," He gestured to the opening to the corridor from the main room, "Had there been an intruder here instead of me or one of da guys, and they were armed – they would've been able to shoot you, or anything really easily. Next time, try and sneak and cover yourself behind stuff."

"Oh," Lexi nodded, "Okay. Sorry..."

"...you don't have to apologise, I'm just saying dat it could've been bad...had da circumstances been different." He smiled at her.

Ace took her hand, "so what are you doin' up?" They began to walk back to Ace's room hand in hand as they spoke

"I woke up because your phone rang."

Ace gave her a confused look, "Who was it?" They walked in and sat down on Ace's bed.

"Kevin, your cousin," She looked down at their joined hands, "He wanted to know when you want them to come over." She looked up at him, "I wasn't sure of the specifics, so I told him that you'd call him back."

Ace smirked, "Oh, will I?" He raised an eyebrow, "Well, I'm sure he can wait." He leaned down and kissed her, running his hands up and down her sides.

Lexi giggled at the feeling on her torso, "Wait, Ace." She broke away and looked at him, "Can we not...do this? Not until tonight anyway, I don't want to spend too much time in bed today."

Ace smiled at her, "Okay," He kissed her again and looked over at the phone, "I guess I should call."

"Yeah." She smiled at him, "Did you get any lunch, or did you just come back?"

Ace crawled across the bed to get to the phone, and went back to Lexi, "Yeah, I figured you'd be lonely, so I ditched – much to the dislike of Duck." He smirked at her.

"Figures," Lexi smirked, "I'll make us some lunch."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine." She smiled at him and kissed him before she left.

Ace smiled back and began to dial the phone. He put the phone to the side of his head and waited for an answer.

He drummed his fingers on his knee after a while when the phone didn't answer and sighed, thinking about him and Lexi, and the child they were having together. He smiled at the thought, and wondered what their child would look like.

He was brought out of his thoughts when the phone beeped and a voice announced that he would have to leave a message. Ace sighed and spoke into the phone, "Hey, Kev, it's Ace – Sorry I couldn't reach you earlier, I'm calling now at," He eyed his watch, "1:47PM our time, call me back when you get a chance and we can find out when it's best for you to get here – I hope all's going well, say hi to everyone for me, bye." He sighed and hung up the phone, turning his attention to the door when he heard a knock.

"Ace," Lexi appeared at the doorway, "Lunch is ready." She smiled at him.

Ace stood up, "Good, I'm starving."

--

"So, Lex," Ace said as he sat down at the table.

Lexi brought their plates over and sat down herself, opposite to him, "Yeah?"

Ace took a quick bite out of his sandwich and swallowed before talking, "I couldn't help but keep t'inkin' about what you said dis mornin'," He looked at her, "Have you seriously _never_ had a boyfriend...before me?"

"Yeah," She shrugged, "It's no big deal."

"Yeah well, I was just wonderin' why; did no one ask you out? Or...were you waitin' for da right person?"

Lexi smiled and looked down at her plate, "A couple of guys asked me out, and a few had crushes on me – some of whom I was good friends with, and I guess I didn't want to ruin that. High school relationships never work out, and I guess I didn't want to lose a boyfriend, and a good friend. Plus, yeah, I was waiting for the right person."

"So...pretty much, you're saying dat you didn't want to jeopardise any of your friendships in high school...but what about _our_ friendship?" Ace raised an eyebrow at her.

Lexi took a sip from her glass of water and pursed her lips, thinking, finally she spoke; "Remember, Ace – I said that _High School_ relationships never really work out, and the last time I checked, we're not in high school anymore." She smiled at him, "Plus, it w_as _you who asked out me. And I had been crushing on you for three years, I couldn't say no!"

Ace smiled, "Yeah dat was a pretty big gamble on my behalf, especially since I'm your leader."

"Mmm." Lexi looked out the window, "I wonder what Zadavia would say about all this," She looked back at Ace, "if she was still here instead of on Freleng?"

Ace looked up to think and half smiled at her, "Well, I'm assumin' dat she'd be pretty pissed, especially with how our relationship's ended up; we 'did it' on da first date, you're pregnant now, plus...we have been goin' at it like rabbits lately."

"How does that change anything? – The whole, us 'doing it', thing." Lexi asked.

Ace gave her a confused look, "Dat was one of da rules when we became a team, _dat _wasn't allowed."

"Oh yeah, true." Lexi thought for a second, looking at her plate, and smiled to herself.

Ace raised an eyebrow at her, "What?"

"I was just wondering, why is it that you and I keep...you know...'doing it'?" She smirked, "I just don't get why it's happening so often lately."

Ace smirked, "Who knows, perhaps da shock of you being pregnant has worn off, and we're just...makin' up for what we missed out on?" He shrugged.

Lexi got up and walked around the table to sit on his lap, "Not to mention that we're more comfortable around each other."

Ace looked down at her, "Wait...when were we uncomfortable with each other?"

Lexi blushed, "You weren't?"

"Nope. Never have been."

"Not even the first night we did it?"

Ace thought for a second, "I was kinda nervous, but dat was da only point so far dat I have been."

"Huh, weird."

"Why?" Ace gave her a concerned look, "Were you nervous?"

"Yeah," Lexi replied, sighing slightly, "That first time...I was _really _nervous..."

"...why?" Ace interrupted her, "Did I...did I do somet'in' to make you uncomfortable?"

"No..." Lexi looked up to think, and then looked back at Ace. She stood up and took his hand, leading him into his room where she shut the door and got the two to sit down on his bed, "It was just that...It was the first time since...what happened in Utah...that I had done that. And if we count what happened in Utah out, it would have been the first time I had...you know..." She looked down at the bed and then back up at Ace, "so that's what made me nervous."

"Oh." Ace looked down for a moment and held her hand in his, "But you," He looked at her again, "You sort of implied dat there had been other occasions where you were nervous."

Lexi nodded, "It's just that...I don't know, it sort of made me feel..._vulnerable_ or something – don't take that the wrong way. But...and, it felt weird for a guy to see me...without clothes...on. Not to mention that I'd never known what it would be like..." She fidgeted slightly, "So that's why."

Ace nodded slightly, "I guess I can see how dat would make you slightly nervous. It doesn't anymore, though – does it?"

"No." Lexi smiled, "Of course not, we've done it too many times for me to still feel weird about it, plus I shower with you like...every morning now." She giggled to herself, "And this morning...normally I wouldn't have wanted us to do that just randomly during the day...but now...apart from how tired it made me...I don't really mind."

Ace smiled at her, "Good. But remember, don't be afraid to tell me if somet'ing's bothering you, or makin' you feel uncomfortable."

"Okay."

They sat in silence for some few moments, both staring into space, before Ace pulled Lexi onto his lap and kissed her. When he broke away, Lexi smiled at him and rested her hands on his shoulders. Smiling, Ace kissed her again, allowing his hands to wander.

Eventually Lexi sighed, shut her eyes and pulled away from him slightly, keeping her face close to his, "You wanna watch TV or something?" She shrugged and looked back at him.

Ace sighed as well and nodded, letting Lexi get off him as they sat on his bed and turned on the TV, both not really paying attention to the images on screen, as they had both been hoping to do something else together...

--

"Lexi, are you okay? You've hardly touched your dinner." Duck frowned at her. Since he had been scolded by the rest of the team that morning, Duck was trying his best to be nice to Lexi – even if it included sucking up to her as much as possible.

Lexi put down her fork, "I'm not really hungry, sorry Slam." She frowned at him.

Slam had made the team dinner that evening, surprising everyone, especially with his amazing cooking skills, which made Lexi feel even guiltier that she couldn't eat.

"Ghar per, It's okay." He smiled at her.

"Lexi," Ace put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Lexi looked down at her food with a frown, "I'm sorry Slam, but I think I've just...kinda lost my appetite – It's not the food, it looks great, but...I'm just not really hungry right now." She half smiled at him.

Slam waved his hand, indicating that it was still okay, as he hungrily ate his food.

Lexi, who had changed back into her uniform before the arrival of the rest of the team, turned to Ace, who was still giving her a concerned look, "Its okay, Ace; I'm sure it's nothing, you just eat, I'll be alright." She smiled at him when he gave her a hesitant look, reluctantly, he began to eat.

"So," Duck looked up at the bunny couple after some time, drawing everyone's attention after there had been some few minutes of silence, "have you two thought of any names for this kid yet?"

"Not really, Duck." Ace said casually, taking a sip from his glass, "Right now we've got...slightly more serious t'ings on our mind."

"More serious than naming your kid?" Duck raised an eyebrow, "Well, when it goes into school on its first day and all that's down on its details is a question mark, don't start complaining that no one prompted you earlier to think of a name for it." He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"I mean; more serious t'ings like tellin' our parents about dis," Ace glanced at Lexi as she was taking a sip from her glass of water, "They'll...not be too happy about dis."

Duck smirked, "What, Lexi being pregnant, or the fact that you guys do it pretty much every night?" He raised an eyebrow.

Lexi coughed a few times as she put down her glass, before having to whack her chest with her fist, she paused for a moment before speaking to the group; who were all giving her concerned looks because of her choking, "I'm good...the...water went down the wrong way."

She coughed again slightly before the room fell silent and all eyes were on those of the bunny couple; Ace's whose had narrowed in annoyance at Duck, and Lexi's who were wide with surprise and worry.

A few seconds of silence passed, before Duck erupted into fits of laughter, he slammed his fist on the table a few times as he laughed before he eventually calmed down enough to speak, "I was just bluffing, I never knew that was actually _true!" _He noticed the death glare that Ace was sending him, "Oh come on," He straightened up and locked eyes with the male bunny, "Like I'd know if you did or didn't. But your reaction, especially you, Lexi," He turned to her, "Was priceless!"

Lexi glared at him, "Well, it's good to know that when I'm choking you find it hysterical." She frowned at him.

Duck smirked, "Well it's kinda obvious now, the way that you two have reacted!" He looked from Ace to Lexi and from Lexi to Ace.

Lexi glanced at all of her team mates, and stared down at the table, embarrassed, while Ace continued to glare at Duck, without breaking eye contact, he spoke in a stern tone, "Duck, what we do is none of your business, nor is it dat of da rest of da team's. We don't question what you do, nor do we make _false _assumptions," He gave him a disappointed look, "So don't accuse us of doing t'ings dat we don't do – Or we could do da same back to you, and I'm sure between da two of us; we have a pretty good imagination."

There was an awkward silence, Lexi looked up at Ace, and was slightly taken aback by the expression on his face. A few more moments of silence passed, before she stood up to clear the plates off the table, "I'll clear" She said quickly.

"I'll-help." Rev responded, getting up, he was followed by Tech.

The three Loonatics who were out of their chairs exchanged glances when they got to the sink, "You get up for the same reason?" Lexi whispered to them.

"What? – Because-of-the-tension? Yep." Rev replied.

"Same," was all Tech said.

They loaded up the dishwasher in silence, with Ace, Duck and Slam eventually coming to help with drying some of the other dishes. Lexi took Ace by the arm when he was putting a cup in a cupboard, and looked at him, "Ace...don't be mad, it's okay." She said quietly, searching his eyes, seriously, for any form of emotion other than aggravation.

Ace's look softened, "I know, but," He looked over his shoulder at the others who continued to sort out the dishes, "It wasn't any of his business, and da guys didn't have to hear dat either. And...It was kinda embarrassin'," He half smiled at her.

"At least you're not the only girl of the team; it kinda made it worse for me." She smiled up at him, "Just don't let him get to you," She kissed him, "Okay?"

"Okay, Lex." He took the cup from in her hands and reached up to put it on the hook in the cupboard and smiled back down at her, he knew full well that she wouldn't have reached it.

Lexi looked up at the cup and pulled a funny face, "Three years I've lived here and I haven't grown enough to reach up there yet." She gave a determined look at the cupboard and said jokingly, "I'll grow enough...eventually."

Ace smiled at her and shook his head slightly, "Lex, sorry to burst your little bubble but I think you've probably stopped growing by now, your nineteen – I doubt you're gonna get any taller."

"I could," She smiled at him, "...If I glued blocks of wood to my feet."

Ace laughed, "Yeah, dat's a practical idea."

Lexi giggled and leaned up to kiss him, "I'm glad I know I'm tall enough to reach here," She kissed him again and smiled.

--

"Gah!" Lexi spat out the contents of her mouth into the sink. A mint green, and white foamy mixture remained in the sink, she turned on the tap and rinsed it away before picking up the bottle of mouthwash and inspecting it, "Geez, that stuff stings!" She looked up at Ace who was busy swilling the liquid around in his mouth, "How in the hell can you use this?"

Ace spit the mouthwash out into the sink, and smiled at her, "I'm used to it, plus I like da minty fresh taste it leaves." He bent down and kissed her, "See."

Lexi laughed, "Yeah, minty." She smiled at him as she left the bathroom and sat down on his bed, flopping back into the soft pillows and letting the fresh scent of clean pillows and sheets into her nostrils. When he had left the bathroom and turned off the light, Ace walked over to her and sat by her legs. "So..." She said, shutting her eyes momentarily, "This'll be an interesting question; what do you want to do?" She smirked at him.

Ace smiled and crawled over to where he was next to her, he pulled off his shirt and threw it to the armchair where it landed and rested on one of the chair's arm rests. Lexi looked at him, "Why do you put on a shirt before bed if you know you're gonna take it off? I don't wear pants to bed anymore 'because I know I'll just take them off when I get hot." She lifted one of her legs up and wiggled her toes.

Ace looked back at her and smiled, "Don't know." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. She immediately rested her head on his chest and stroked his fur for a while. "You _do_ like doing dat, don't ya?" He smiled down at her.

Lexi looked up at him and smiled, "What? You're nice and soft."

Ace smiled and rubbed her head, ruffling her hair as he did so, Lexi rolled her eyes. "You smell nice." She said after a while.

Ace laughed and kissed the top of her head and looked down at her, "What?"

Lexi shrugged, "You smell nice."

Ace smiled, "I never really noticed, so what do I smell like, then?"

Lexi smirked, she knew he was teasing her but described it none the less, "Have you ever been to a spice market?"

He shook his head, "No."

"Oh." Lexi hesitated for a moment, "Well, you kinda remind me of that. You have this sweet, spicy smell – like...cinnamon mixed with vanilla." She looked up at him, "And you have a faint scent of cologne too, it's nice." She smiled to herself, "I usually smell it on me in the morning."

Ace smirked, "Is dat why you're so reluctant to have a shower sometimes?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah," She chuckled, "That _and _I know it means that I have to get up, and I like sleeping." She sat up and looked at him. "So...she looked at him...what do I smell like...when I don't smell like you?" She smirked at him.

Ace kissed her before gently pulling her shirt up slightly so it revealed her stomach, he ran his hand along her stomach a few times, earning a small laugh out of her when his touch tickled her.

He kissed her stomach, and Lexi laughed at the feeling. Ace kissed it a few more times before resting his forehead on it for a few moments, "Well I _can _kind of smell what you described my scent as, on you, I'm guessing it's from earlier," He smirked at her, and sat back up, moving next to her, "You've got a really nice...flowery scent dat I can...almost describe; you smell kind of like a fuchsia. It's nice." He smiled at her and kissed her on the lips.

Lexi giggled after some few moments of silence, "You know, I just realised how weird that was," She turned her body to face him; "We just smelt each other." She laughed again.

Ace smiled, "I don't see anyt'in' wrong with dat, He kissed her again, "It's just a way of getting' to know each other."

Lexi laughed, "In a weird kind of way," she kissed him, only to have Ace roll on top of her and hold her arms down, smiling. "Hey!" She gave him a look of mock shock, and smiled up at him.

"Hah!" Ace smiled at her and leaned down so that his chest touched hers, "Gotcha." He smirked at her before kissing her, while Lexi wrapped her arms around him.

He moved to kiss her neck, and Lexi lightly giggled when she felt Ace's tongue tickle her collarbone. Ace stopped and smiled at her, resting his forehead on top of hers. He looked into her eyes for a while, as she looked back at him, finally Ace spoke, "You're so beautiful, Lex." He smiled at her.

Lexi looked taken aback and looked to the side before furrowing her eyebrows and looking back at him, "Umm...thanks?"

Ace gave her a surprised look, "Lexi...what's wrong with me tellin' you dat?"

Lexi shrugged, "I've never had a boyfriend, so I guess I'm not used to people saying that to me."

Ace smiled at her before kissing her, "Well get used to it..."

--

Ace looked down at Lexi, whose head rested at his shoulder, he smiled at her and kissed her forehead and saw her smile slightly. She had fallen asleep moments ago, and though she was asleep, must have been awake jut enough to be able to shift over to where he was in her sleep, and rest her head on his chest.

Ace smiled down at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he sat up and looked at the ceiling. Deep in the back of his mind, he knew what he wanted to do, and that he wouldn't regret his decision. But at the front of his brain, negative thoughts lingered – the same thoughts which had made the decision so hard to make, which was why he hadn't come to a conclusion yet, despite how he had been seriously thinking about the decision for roughly a month already, and had liked the idea of it for two years – but only after he had _really _gotten to know her.

He looked up at the ceiling and sighed, he shut his eyes and thought about the decision, thinking of whether now was the right time, or if he should wait, or if it should never happen at all.

He thought back through some of the memories of the past month, and replayed some of the best moments in his head, over and over again...Their first kiss, their first night together, when he had saved her from the almighty – and possibly fatal- blow from Colossus, the camping trip; and all of the precarious events that happened during that three day trip, when they had worked together at the mayor's building to bring the armed men down, when they had finally acknowledged the facts – Lexi was pregnant – and how her attitude towards it wasn't of anxiety so much, but more of...acceptance - When the two had camped out in the desert on their second 'first date', and all of the _closeness _following that.

Ace smiled and opened his eyes, but then frowned. The flashbacks helped him to remember what he _had_, yet he couldn't understand why he hadn't made his decision already. His decision to leave home to live with his uncle and cousin had been beneficial to his parents; and his bond with his extended family, his decision to accept the position of leader of the Loonatics proved to be a good one – he was a great leader, and his decision to finally ask out Lexi – whom he had loved since they had first met –was one of his greatest decisions, which proved to be a good one.

Ace sighed deeply and shut his eyes. He felt Lexi shift a little, he smiled as he watched her place a hand under her head and slightly stroke his fur, and sigh happily. He rubbed her shoulder and back, but immediately stopped when he felt a small chain – he feared that had he continued to move his arm, he may have accidentally choked her, or at least hurt her neck.

He sat up slightly, and followed the chain until his fingers found the small heart-shaped pendant which made up Lexi's locket; a family heirloom which mothers had passed down to their daughters for many generations. Ace considered its sentimental value, and sighed as he carefully found the clasp to the locket, and took it off her, laying it on the bedside table beside them – he didn't want to risk her hurting herself with it.

He looked back down at her, and suddenly felt warm, realising that she looked it too, as she looked as though she was trying to keep herself cooled down, but still trying to cover herself appropriately: The sheet covering her torso; with her arms above it to allow them to be cooled, while the sheet only covered half of her thighs to keep her legs cool. Though Ace couldn't exactly understand why she would want to cover herself up – he had already seen her without clothes on.

He carefully sat up, moving her gently as to not wake her, and deftly got out of bed, quickly putting his boxers on. He walked over to the fan and turned it on, before glancing at Lexi, and quickly slipping on a pair of pants, before leaving the room.

He turned to the right to go to the kitchen; he was in need of a glass of water, and some time to think.

He sat at the table, the light from above the oven giving the room a soft glow, and making strange shadows crawl across the floor and walls. He supported his head with a hand and glared at the table, not understanding why it was so difficult for him to make the decision.

He looked up at the sound of movement coming from the hall and half smiled at Tech, who, still uniform clad, entered the room.

"Still up experimentin'?" Ace took a sip from his water.

"Yeah, Tech rubbed his eyes," He went over to the coffee maker, "I can hardly keep my eyes open."

"Err, Tech." Ace stood up, "Do you really want to be makin' coffee dis late? It's 1:30AM."

Tech looked at the clock, surprised, "Huh, time really got away from me. Well, I guess I should call it a night." He turned to leave but then stopped, and turned around before pulling up a chair at the table, "How're things with you and Lex?"

Ace gave him a surprised look, "Fine."

"Good." Tech half smiled, "I don't know whether she told you, but when she was talking to me the other night, Lexi seemed somewhat...nervous about this whole situation." He frowned, "I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

"She's fine, Tech." Ace almost hissed, but he quickly regained his composure, "I think she's grown to accept this a bit more now, so have I."

"Good." Tech smiled, "To be perfectly honest, when you guys first told us about this, I was pretty worried that the two of you wouldn't be able to handle this, especially Lexi, but you've both really been able to cope with this well."

"Yeah," Ace chuckled to himself and looked down at the table, before looking back at the coyote, "There have been a few ups and downs – mainly on Lexi's behalf. But it's understandable, I'm sure any woman in our situation would be handling this similarly."

"I think she might even be handling it better." Tech replied, "I've heard of women who have become depressed, or even just completely broken down upon finding out that they got pregnant accidentally."

"Mmm." Ace agreed.

"So..." Tech said awkwardly, "You're gonna be a father, you nervous?"

Ace chuckled to himself, "Yeah, a bit. Half of me's excited, and half of me is getting really freaked out about this. I think I'm more excited to meet da kid, once it's been born, and getting to do all of da dad stuff. But I'm nervous, because; of course I don't want anyt'in' to happen to da baby, but right now I'm more worried for Lexi's sake – I mean she's so young. I know you and I are twenty-one, and dat's not too bad of an age...considering nothing painful would happen to me involving da kid being conceived, but Lexi..." He looked up, trying to think.

"...You just think that form a physical point of view, she seems too young to be able to cope with some thing like that?" He glanced at the table, "And I'm guessing that you're worried that she won't be able to...physically, and psychologically handle this?" Tech raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Ace sighed. "I know dat physically she should be able to cope with dis, I mean, it's natural – she's got all of da necessary t'ings to allow da kid to grow, and right now she seems to have accepted dat she's pregnant and there's not'in' we can do to stop dat anymore – and...she almost seems _excited _now." Ace smiled, but then frowned, "but I'm keeping an eye on her, because....I don't know why, but part of me t'inks she's gonna need help getting through dis."

Tech frowned, "To be honest, I had been thinking that myself. At least she's got you to look after her, had it been anyone else and I might have been apprehensive, but I know you'll look after her the best you can." He smiled.

"Yeah." Ace smiled. There was a slight pause, before, smiling widely, Ace asked, "Hey Tech, how do you feel about da idea of a kid here?"

Tech smiled, "I think it might actually be cool. It might be a bit awkward when it's first be born, 'cause I know that you won't want Lexi home alone with the baby in case something happens while we're on a mission," He smirked, "But when it's older it might be easier, obviously we can't leave it to run around the tower while we're gone, so I have a feeling someone's gonna have to do some babysitting." He chuckled to himself, "But yeah, back to your point, I think this'll all be cool....except of course when you have to tell Lexi's parents, and yours."

"Yeah," Ace sighed, "Lexi's folks are coming on da sixth; I haven't been able to speak with mine yet."

Tech half smiled at his leader, "Don't be too nervous about telling them Ace – Lexi wouldn't let her family do anything to you, nor let them split you and her up, and neither would the guys and I."

Ace smiled, "Thanks, Tech."

--

Ace pulled off his sweat pants and folded them back into the draw, before turning around at the sound of Lexi moving.

"Ace...is that...you..?" She sat up and looked at him.

He walked back over to her and climbed back into bed, resting the sheet on his lap, "Yeah," He kissed the top of her head, "How'd you wake up?"

Lexi raised an eyebrow, though he most likely wouldn't have seen it due to the lack of light, "Ace, super hearing."

Ace smiled, "I should've known that, I tried to be quiet; sorry I woke you."

"It's okay." Lexi yawned and lay back down.

Ace lay down next to her and looked up at the ceiling as Lexi snuggled beside him. Ace smiled to himself as he looked down at her; asleep at his shoulder. He studied how her hair fell over her right eye, the small smile on her face as she slept peacefully, her silken ears as they lay along the pillow, how her cheek rested by his shoulder, and how her body was curled up delicately as she slept; almost making her resemble a flower.

Ace gazed at her, taking in every detail of her face and body. He noticed how one of her hands and arms lay across his chest, while he noticed a slight bulge under the sheets, as her other hand covered her lower abdomen; where their child was growing.

Ace's smile broadened at this realisation, she seemed to find comfort in having some form of contact with her family. She loved Ace, and the child they were having together. Ace rolled over to where he was facing Lexi, and wrapped one arm around her, while he kept one underneath his head, he pressed himself closer to her and kissed her forehead, while he looked down at where his hand was resting over her lower stomach.

With a happy sigh, Ace closed his eyes. His decision had been made.


	33. Looking

**I am so sorry this chapter has taken to long to be uploaded!**

**I had great trouble loading it here , and had to wait a few days before it would work!**

**I had about 4 different versions of this chapter written, now which have all been put into a folder so I can use sections of it for other things instead (that way my hard work doesn't go to waste!)**

**And so because of the above, it took me a long time before I wrote what seemed good - not to mention the Christmas holidays, I was out of the country visiting family, so I didn't want to spend it writing; so I took a break. And lately I've had so much homework I've found it difficult to stay sane! But luckily, I managed to find some time to write!**

**Thank you all so much for your patience, I've started to write the next chapter (...about 5 paragraphs of the next chapter) So hopefully I might be able to get it fully written before too long!**

**WARNINGS: SUGGESTIVENESS**

**ENJOY**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Four days had passed, during which time Ace had managed to get in touch with his cousin and discuss a date for when his family would come over – the twelfth of June, to give Lexi a chance to catch up with her family, and for a chance for her family to meet all of the Loonatics.

During the four day period, Ace and Lexi had already moved some of Lexi's belongings out of her room and into his. Her clothes and shoes didn't take up as much room as Ace had feared – Lexi wasn't exactly the 'mall-rat' type of girl which the males of the team had all assumed she was...she was more of a T-shirt fanatic, which was the only problem. The couple ended up having to move Ace's shirts into the closet to hang up so that there was some draw space to fit Lexi's T-shirts in.

Lexi had also had her share of morning sickness and problems with her encounters with the Microwave...where she would have to be constantly reminded by her team mates. Ace was never particularly mad with her about the Microwave incidents, he knew she just forgot. In fact, Ace hadn't been feeling any other feelings towards her except love and sympathy – sympathy more for when she was suffering from morning sickness.

Lexi leaned over Ace and kissed him, "Hey!" She smiled as she stood back up and looked around the training room, and at all of the exercise equipment which the Loonatics used, which predominantly consisted of exercise bikes, treadmills and various other fitness machines. She then focused her attention to the weights which the male Loonatics used a fair amount. Lexi did have some of her own, which were specifically for women, but she never used them, she never figured she would need to.

Ace sat up from the bench where he had been lifting weights, and quickly gave his forehead a wipe with a white towel before smiling at her, "Hey, Lex." He pulled her into his lap and kissed her, "what's up?"

Lexi shrugged, "I'm kinda in the mood for chicken," she gave him a guilty smirk, "You wanna go somewhere that sells chicken, for lunch?"

Ace smiled at her, "Sure." He gestured that he was about to stand, and so Lexi got off of him and looked up at him as he rose to his feet, "You wanna put some different clothes on, might as well since we haven't had a mission in...Forever."

She smiled as they left the training room together.

--

"You know what I don't get?" Lexi said as she took a sip from her drink.

"Nope," Ace looked at her, "figured you had it all together," he smirked, "...sometimes."

Lexi gave him a light punch on the arm, "If you call two Gooses, 'Geese'...why don't you call a couple of Mooses..." She looked up at him, "'Meese'?"

Ace laughed to himself, "I don't know, Lex. When did you t'ink of dis?"

"When I was peeing," Lexi replied blankly, she looked back up at him, "I think of a lot of stuff when I'm on the crapper."

Ace raised an eyebrow at her, "'Kay, dat ain't weird..."

Lexi laughed to herself, "You see, we're getting a lot closer – I'd never be able to say something like that to you...normally." She smiled.

Ace looked down at her, "We should be closer with all da stuff we do together – we should be honest, all da time." He took her hand and smiled back, "Come on."

They walked to the beach, and there they ate their takeout on the sand, watching children and other couples play and relax in the sea, or on the sand. Ace and Lexi talked whilst eating their food; about their team mates, their families, their current predicament and what they thought their child would look like.

"Ace," Lexi said after she swallowed a bite out of her chicken sandwich.

"Yeah?" He looked across at her.

Lexi glanced down at her sandwich, before slowly raising her eyes to look at Ace, "You know you asked me if I had ever had a...boyfriend..."

"Yeah..."

Lexi fidgeted slightly, "Have you ever had a...a...girlfriend?" She looked up at him, slight worry in her eyes.

Ace sighed and took her hand, "Yeah – once though. Lookin' back on it, it was a bit stupid, really." He massaged her hand using his thumb as he thought, "She was a bit..." He sighed, "I don't know how to describe her actually..." He furrowed his eyebrows, "It was durin' da senior year, I'd never really given much thought to datin' – I wanted to focus more on studyin'. Plus I was never really interested in any of da girls there."

Lexi half-smiled, "...Until her..."

Ace gave her a quick glance, trying to assess her mood, "I don't really know what I was t'inkin'...I guess I just kinda wanted a date for prom, figured I find someone at da beginning of senior year, rather than wait until prom came around. But _she_ asked _me_ out." He sounded somewhat surprised, "I guess...she was a bit 'easy'...if dat's what you call it. She'd...slept around a bit, but you always get girls like dat."

Lexi took her hand away from his and looked down, "Yeah...you do..." Her voice shook slightly as she fiddled with her tee-shirt.

Ace sighed, "Lex, we _never_ actually...you know..._did it_." He frowned at her, "Trust me she wanted to, perhaps I was da only guy left for her, who knows. But I always said no, I wasn't gonna do some random girl dat I didn't hold particularly strong feelings for, what's da point? Anyway...as ironic as it is, I also considered dat I had my whole life ahead of me..."

Lexi looked up at him at that point, "What's that supposed to mean?" She glared at him, "You wouldn't be with her because you didn't wanna screw up your life with her?" She started to get up, as well as raise her voice, "well I apologise if I've done that to you, I'm sorry that when you did me you ended up getting a free kid, too!"

She walked off, leaving some people staring. Ace, however, wasn't concerned with the people watching, and as she left the crowded areas of the beach and walked to a slightly more secluded area of rocks, Ace took her arm and got her to face him.

"Lexi, what are you talkin' about?" He raised his eyebrows at her, whilst giving her a small glare of his own.

"I...I..." Lexi glanced at the people around him, and pulled him behind the large rocks where they wouldn't be seen. "Ace...I...I'm sorry!" She dropped to her knees at his feet, "I guess I'm just stressed, it's the hormones, and my family's coming tomorrow..."

Ace sat down next to her, "Its okay, Lex...but you've gotta understand," He lifted her chin with his hand, "Dis kid," He put a hand on her lower abdomen, "I love it, Lex. So don't be t'inkin' dat I'm annoyed about it bein' a consequence of what we did...I want it. And I want to be with you – I didn't particularly like da girl who went out with me, I dumped her not long after 'cause I got sick of her...then, of course, my cousin started goin' out with her so she was at our place all da time..." He half smiled, "Which sucked." He shook his head, "Anyway, Lex, the point is – I want to spend every second with you, I want to have dis kid with you, Lex; I really, _really_ do!"

Lexi smiled at him and kissed him, gripping the fabric of his tee-shirt with her hands while his rested on her hips. Ace kept his face close to hers when they parted, and smiled at her before looking around. He stood up and put a hand on the large rock next to him, it stood at least two feet higher than he did, and was rough yet smooth to the touch.

He took a deep breath before smiling down at her, "I kinda miss bein' at da sea, you know, da smell and sound. It's nice to be back, even if it's not at all near where I used to be."

"Yeah," Lexi smiled, "It was the same for me when you took me to the desert the other night. It was nice," She grinned at him, "We should do it again sometime."

Lexi sat down on the sand in their secluded spot of beach and picked up a handful of sand before letting it go, and watching it pour out of her grip, "You know what's cool about being here, Ace?" She stood up and looked at him as he looked down at her.

"What?"

"Apart from the sand not being the right colour, and not the exact consistency, its kinda like...here is part of a little bit of both of us, if you think about it."

"What do you mean?"

"The rocks, the sand – kinda like the desert, a little, where I'm from. And then there's the sea and sand – like a beach where you're from." She smiled at him.

Ace smiled back and kissed her, before looking out to sea, "Yeah, Lex...you're right," He said slowly, an idea forming in his head, "You're right."

--

"So, we get to meet Lexi's weird rabbit family – fun." Duck said as he and the others of the team stepped onto an escalator and began to ascend to the first floor of the mall. Duck looked down at a small shopping list in his hand, "And since when did we have to help get stuff for it?"

"Since we became her friends, and team mates." Tech said as he took the list from the waterfowl and got off the escalator. They walked away from it to allow other people to leave the escalator, and stood by a directory where some potted exotic plants were arranged – the plants making up a theme in the mall, with the colour scheme of the floors being dark leaf-green, cream or orange marble – in accordance with the orange flowers and plants.

Tech looked down at the list, "So we need stuff from the grocery store, and a few extra blankets...and other necessities." He looked up at his team, "Slam and I'll go to the grocery store, you two," He looked at Rev and Duck, "Can grab some things here, and we'll meet back at the food court for lunch at one."

"Okay!" Rev said happily as he and Duck began to walk off.

Slam grumbled in delight at being able to go shopping for food, and Tech sensed that, "Slam," he said sternly, "Remember, we have to pay for the food, _before_, you eat it." He gave the Tasmanian devil a suspicious look, "we all remember what happened last time you got too excited before lunch..." He gave the devil a smile.

Slam smiled back, giving the coyote a toothy grin as they stepped onto another escalator to get to the grocery store.

--

"Hey, Ace." Lexi said as she took hold of his hand after they left the beach and crossed a road to get to a park.

"Yeah?" He smiled down at her.

"I was thinking of seeing Alex sometime, to say Hi – I already text him to say when they'd be coming, he said he's working on one day, but otherwise he's free – and I thought, hey, it's a nice day, might as well go and see him since he has the day off." She smiled.

"Sure, Lex. You want me to come, or..."

"You can if you want," She smiled, "He's really cool, and nice...I guess he was just a bit shocked when we told him the news, but I think it would be good if you got to know him as a person rather than just as a doctor."

"Well, okay." He smiled, "I _do_ need to pick up somet'in' at a store, so I might have to go a one point."

"That's fine," She smiled, "If you want you could go now and I'll walk over..."

"..Where does he live?"

"About eleven blocks away, the other side of the park to HQ." She replied as they started walking again.

Ace half-smiled at her, "Dat's pretty far away, I'll walk with you, I'll see him, we could talk for a bit, and den I'll go and come back to take you home again." He gave her a full smile as he looked down at her.

"Ace, you don't have to – there are loads of people around, it's the hottest day of the year so far..."

"...Well yeah, Lex; But I just like to know dat you're okay." He squeezed her hand slightly, "I'd rather know you got there safely – even if it means havin' to walk for ages, and then come back again - rather than leave you to go on your own and have somet'in' happen to you."

Lexi smiled at him, "Thanks." She looked ahead at the path which ran alongside the road, which eventually stopped at an intersection a few metres ahead of them, "we need to go left here..."

--

"'Kay..." Tech looked at the list as he and Slam walked through the supermarket, with Slam pushing the trolley while Tech read out items from the shopping list which they both took from either side of them from the aisles, and put in the trolley. "Lexi's noted that her little sister has a severe peanut allergy, we're gonna need to check the food we buy, Slam."

As they walked and found various items throughout the store, as written on the list, they check the label of the items, putting back the foodstuffs which had allergy warnings which indicated they had nut products in them, and put into the trolley the items which were free from nut contamination.

"Howla dutha shopla food?" Slam commented as he put back a tub of ice cream.

"You got that right, how the heck _do_ they shop for food?" Tech raised an eyebrow and put the cheese back on the aisle – even some cheeses!"

Slam sighed and grumbled something incoherent.

Tech looked up at the devil and sighed, "It's precautionary, Slam – we can't let her eat anything with peanuts in, it could kill her." He sighed, defeated, at the task which they had to continue with, "We'll just have to keep looking."

--

"Okay, two-new, _or-spare_, sheets; four-pillow-cases-and-a-new-pillow-because-mine's-gone-flat." Rev checked off items from the list as they left the bed store.

"I've gotta get me one of those mould mattress things, they're really comfortable!" Duck exclaimed as they went down another escalator. "What's left?" he took the list from Rev, "More soap, Lex need more shampoo – go figure, oh, and I need to get some more toothpaste, and then we can go and get some eats!"

Rev smiled, "Yeah. What-time-is-it?" He glanced down at his watch, "A-quarter-to-one, better-call-Tech-and-find-out-how-he's-doing." Rev pulled out his cell phone from his jeans pocket and typed in Tech's number before putting the phone to his head.

"Hey-Tech," Rev said, "How're-you-guys-doing?"

"_...Okay...but you wouldn't believe how much food Lexi's sister can't eat – it's unbelievable!"_

"I've-got-a-cousin-who's-lactose-intolerant,-they-buy-food-by...by...I-can't-remember-the-name-of-the-company, I-know-it's-a-'Mr..._something'_...I-forget-what."

"_Yeah...Rev, that doesn't really help, she has a peanut allergy – not dairy."_

"No!" Rev sighed, "That-company-makes-loads-of-stuff-for-allergy-sufferers. Ask-someone-at-the-store-where-it-is."

"_Oh, okay. Thanks for the help, Rev. See you guys soon."_

"Bye." Rev hung up and turned to Duck, "Okay, let's go."

--

"Oh hey, 54th street – I looked for apartments here when I got a job as a stunt guy." Ace looked up at the tall apartment buildings around them."

"Huh," Lexi looked at him, "You guys could've lived together." She smiled. "Anyway..." They walked down the street while Lexi looked at the names of different buildings until she found the one she was looking for. "Ah, here, '_Paradise Falls'_" She looked back at Ace and gave him a smile as they opened the door and entered the lobby, "Sounds like something you'd call a waterfall."

Ace chuckled and followed her in, noticing the woman behind the desk in the lobby glance at them and give them a smile as they walked to the elevator. They stepped inside; it was decorated with a dark brown wood, and gold – almost like the majestic colour scheme in the lobby...minus the plants.

Lexi hovered her finger over the floor numbers before pushing on the gold plated button labelled '23'. The elevator ascended whilst playing jazz music, the numbers of floors lighting up as they neared their required floor.

Ace smiled at Lexi and gave her a kiss before the elevator doors opened and they stepped out of the elevator. Immediately in front of them was a large gold framed window which overlooked a large park. Ace glanced at the window frame, "Geez, gold's everywhere - dis place must be expensive."

Lexi giggled and tapped her finger on the gold frame, "Ace it's fake," when her finger made contact with it, the window frame emitted a small metallic sound, "It's brass."

"Oh. It still looks nice, though." He smiled.

They turned to the right and walked down the area which was labelled _'Rooms M-T' _at this, Ace glanced behind them, to the other corridor to the left of the window which read, '_Rooms A-H'. _

Ace followed behind Lexi and looked around, the apartment was very nice. The carpet below them was soft and a cream-peach colour, and didn't have any dirt on it whatsoever; Ace couldn't notice a spec – even with his enhanced vision. The walls were cream with the occasional dark wood varnished wooden panels, before the wall would become white again and have various photos of Acmetropolis on it – the pattern of the wall features continued all the way down.

Ace then took into account how light it was, as there were windows running along the outside edge, with windows to their left, and apartments on their right, as they turned again to pass a sign which read _'Rooms U-Z'. _Ace then realised that the corner they turned lead them to the rooms from the last quarter of the alphabet – just like the other rooms to the left of the elevator they had left from were to the first quarter of the alphabet.

At last they passed three cream doors with gold brass door handles on them, '_U', 'V', 'W'. _Lexi stopped at the door marked _'X' _and knocked. Ace glanced behind them and smiled at a couple who walked past them, before he turned back to Lexi.

The door opened eventually, and they were greeted with the same tall, tanned, thin, blonde haired doctor they had encountered two, almost three weeks ago. He was clad in a light green tee-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He smiled at them, "Hey Lex!" He gave her a quick hug before looking at Ace, "...and..." He looked up, trying to remember the name, "...Ace!" He shook the male rabbit's hand, "Come in."

The two bunnies stepped inside and looked around the room. The walls were a peach-orange colour, and a large window was opposite to them. It reached the ceiling and stopped at the floor, and had light green curtains hanging open at the ends of the window. To his left, Ace saw the small living room area, with a dark brown leather sofa, and two dark brown leather armchairs. There was a glass coffee table at the centre of the circle of chairs, which were slightly angled so the person sitting would be able to see the flat screen television which sat in a spot within a corner unit of large dark brown shelves which contained many books, and a few potted plants and other ornaments.

To Ace's left was a kitchen area, keeping with the dark brown theme, the cupboards were a dark brown wood and lined the top of the kitchen area, while a corner unit was placed in the corner. A bar area ran around the outside of the kitchen area, with tall stools reaching up to the narrow table which the chairs rested against. The kitchen had some saucepans and frying pans hanging from hooks in the ceiling, and some potted plants sat on the bar-table/bench and on a few shelves.

The apartment, from what Ace could see, was quite open, the window helped to bring that out. Beyond the kitchen, even further to the left, was a sliding door which matched the colour of the walls, it was ajar and so Ace could just make out the end of a bed, and a bathroom beyond that.

To the right of the living room area was another door which was completely shut, leading off to another area of the apartment.

"You've rearranged it." Lexi said as she walked inside properly, allowing Alex to close the door to his apartment.

"Yeah, I had a few weeks off back in March, figured I'd change stuff around, repaint." He said as he walked into the kitchen area, while Lexi sat down on one of the stools, Ace standing beside her.

Alex turned off the oven and bent down to open a door and take out a tray of cookies. He placed it on a bench and turned back to the rabbits, leaning on the bench behind him. "So how are you two?" He gave a slightly longer look at Ace.

"Good." Lexi smiled, "We just went to the beach for lunch."

Alex chuckled to himself, "Yeah, I stopped doing that after it was windy one day when I went for my lunch break – Sand isn't a nice addition in a salami sandwich."

Lexi smiled and looked around, "I like the colour scheme, reminds me of home." She smiled. She fixed her gaze on the window and looked outside, "Wow, you can see all of the central park from here, and our head quarters." She smiled, "The Park looks different from this side, and I'm used to looking at it from the other way round where we are."

She looked at the cupboards in the living room area, and focused on some vases and pots on a shelf, with pictures of some of the rock sculptures in monument valley near to where she lived, "Hey are those Navajo designs?" She stood up and walked over.

"Yeah," Alex replied, getting two glasses out of a cupboard, "I picked them up at a little shop on my way to Phoenix with your brothers once."

Lexi smiled and turned back to him, "I've been meaning to ask Mum if she could send me one, I love the designs on them."

"Hey, do either of you want a drink?" Alex said, holding up two glasses, "I shopped this morning, so I have juice or..."

"Water's fine for me, Thanks, Alex." Lexi smiled as she sat back down, she looked up at Ace, "You gonna sit?"

Ace glanced at Alex, "T'anks, could I get some orange juice...and use your bathroom?"

Alex smiled, "Yeah. Just go through the door beyond the living room, there, and it's the second door on the left."

"T'anks." Ace smiled. He gave Lexi a gentle smile and walked to the sliding door. He opened it, and shut it again once he was through, not wanting to let in any cold air or vice versa. He walked through the slightly darkened corridor, walking past a room that must have been a guest room. Beyond that, was the Bathroom – while in front of him, in an open door at the end of the corridor must have been the laundry room. He turned into the bathroom and shut the door.

Once finished, he washed his hands and opened the door, and noticed that there were several framed photographs along the corridor – none of anyone in particular, just photos of what Ace assumed to be Utah – going on the famous picture of 'the Mittens' from monument valley.

Walking back into the living room, he saw Lexi and Alex sitting on the two arm chairs talking. The orange juice Ace had asked for was on a coaster on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Ace sat down in front of it, and listened as the two friends talked.

--

Ace glanced at the time on his watch: 4:42PM. He looked up, wondering how time had managed to slip away so quickly, he made brief eye contact with Lexi and gestured to his watch, Alex noticed this.

"Oh, sorry do you guys have somewhere to go?" He said, standing up as Ace did.

Lexi looked up at the two, "Ace said he had to go and pick up something from a store." She stood up too, "I'll go with you Ace, if you want?"

"No, Lexi; its fine," He smiled, "You keep talkin' with Alex...if you have anyt'in' left to talk about!" He gave a small chuckle, "Do you want me to come back after, or do you want to call me to pick you up?"

Alex gave Ace a confused look.

Ace looked at the human, "I just don't want her to be walkin' back by herself..."

"I can drive her back if it helps," Alex offered, "save you coming back." He shrugged.

The two males looked to Lexi, "Umm...sure, yeah. Ace, it's fine, as long as Alex is really okay with dropping me back home."

"Its fine, Lex." He smiled at her.

"Okay, t'anks Alex." Ace smiled at Alex, "Bye, Lex; see you later." He kissed the top of her head, said goodbye one more time, and left.

--

Ace walked through the automatic doors of the mall and looked ahead, trying to remember the exact location of the store – he had only ever been there once, and that was very recently, so he couldn't remember its location without checking the directory ahead of him on his right.

He looked on the holographic map, until he felt someone tap him on the shoulder; he turned around and saw Rev behind him.

"Hey-Ace, I-didn't-expect-to-see-you-here, what-are-you-doing?"

Ace looked behind Rev, to see the rest of his male team mates standing a few feet behind the roadrunner. "I need to collect somet'in' from a store. Why, what are you guys doin' here?"

Tech stepped forwards, "Lexi'd noted down stuff she needed to get before tomorrow, we're thinking she forgot – You guys were out, so we called her but she didn't answer." He held up the bags of groceries in his hands, "We figured we'd go out and grab the stuff for her – or did you guys get it already?"

"Er...no." Ace said, somewhat awkwardly, "We went to get lunch and then we went to see Lexi's friend Alex..."

"..Speaking of which, Ace, have you by any chance forgotten something...or someone?" Duck raised an eyebrow.

Ace rolled his eyes, "Lexi's still with Alex, and if you guys don't mind, I'm kind of in a rush, the store closes at 5:30."

Duck's eyes widened, "Wait a second!" He looked Ace up and down, "are you stupid or something?"

"Excuse me?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

"You said Lexi's still with Alex...you mean you left her with some random guy you don't even know, or trust?!" He pulled a funny face, "Who knows what they could be doing now you're not around..."

All eyes turned to Ace. Ace glared at the mallard, "I trust her, Duck..."

"...I know you do, Ace." Duck smiled cockily, "But do you trust Alex?"

Ace rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, "They've been friends for years, Duck – I doubt they'd do anyt'in' to be 'more than friends' especially with Lexi in da state she's in." He crossed his arms, "So stop at whatever 'mind game' you're playin' at, 'cause it ain't workin' on me. I'll see you guys back at head quarters."

"Fine then!" Duck called out to is leader as he walked away, "But don't go getting angry at me when she get's knocked up twice!"

The remaining Loonatics turned to leave the mall, with Tech giving Duck a quick whack around the back of the head using his hand, "Duck, just give it a rest, already."

Duck rubbed the back of his head, muttering in annoyance.

--

Ace walked into his bedroom, the sun was fast disappearing below the horizon and so the room was becoming gloomy. '_Where can I hide dis?' _Ace looked around his room in annoyance, '_Where's somewhere she won't look...?' _He checked his draws and considered his underwear pile, but knew that since hers were now also in the same draw she could accidentally find it. He thought about his bedside table, but thought that if she decided to watch TV, she'd look in there for the remotes – so that was a no as well.

He sat down on his bed with a sigh; he had to hide it somewhere where she couldn't find it, but where?

Finally he thought of a place he could hide it in – one of his coat pockets. She would have no reason to give it to him to wear – it was summer, and the pocket would be the perfect place to hide it without it being seen.

He quickly stood up and found his old winter Skiing jacket which he hadn't warn since joining the team. He removed the gloves from within the coat pocket sand placed them on a shelf above the wardrobe. He then carefully put the small box inside the coat's left pocket.

Then, to remind himself, he wrote '_winter coat'_ on a piece of paper and put it in his bedside table draw. It wasn't too obvious that if she found it, Lexi would realise what was going on, but it wasn't too vague that Ace would forget where he had hidden it.

Sighing happily, he went to shut the doors on his wardrobe, and as he did, he felt two arms slide over his upper back, and then his shoulders. He smiled and shut the wardrobe doors, grasping her hands in his. He turned around and smiled at Lexi, "Hey." He smiled at her and rested his hands on her hips.

Lexi smiled back, "Hey." She kissed him, "thanks for letting me see Alex, it was fun."

Ace's smile shrank only slightly as he remembered what Duck had said, but he shook off the thought and kissed her. "Good, I'm glad you had a good time." He looked down at the floor for a moment, "You know earlier, what I said about honesty?"

"_We should be closer with all da stuff we do together – we should be honest, all da time."_

Lexi gave him a confused look, "Yeah..."

Ace gave a small sigh, "You love me, and I love you – you wouldn't ever cheat on me with another guy, right?"

"Of course not!" Lexi furrowed her eyebrows and looked shocked, "Why...do...do you suddenly think I would...?"

She tried to back up, to leave, but Ace only slightly tightened his grip on her and turned them both around so that she was backed up against the wardrobe; he didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't want her to run off either. "Lexi, don't try to run off – I know you wouldn't it's just...you and Alex...and then you and Tech...And I can kind of tell dat Rev seems to have an eye for you." He looked into her eyes, "I just needed to know dat you wouldn't fool around with them."

Lexi furrowed her eyebrows with confusion, "Alex and I are just friends, that's all we are. Some of my other guy friends had crushes on me, and he was never one of them – plus he's my best friend's brother, I would never date him. And Tech..._Tech? _He's, I just thought we were friends, I don't like him like that...or at least I'm pretty darn sure I don't like him in that way. And Rev? So what if it's just a crush, its Rev, he's harmless, he'd never do anything - it'll just ware off eventually."

Ace nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Good, you should be." Her gaze softened, "Ace I only love you, you should know that by now – You're the first, and only person I've ever been out with, and now you think that I'd see other guys? Come on, it's ridiculous." She gave him a small smile, "...what about you...?"

"Lexi, I never had any friend who were girls; really, there were people I'd talk to, but none I would consider actual friends. And I had one 'girlfriend' – If you could really call it dat. You're the only girl I've had eyes for, you're havin' my kid – of course I'm gonna stay with you!"

Lexi smiled to herself, "Even when I'm huge and largely pregnant?" She put a hand on her lower abdomen and looked up at him.

Ace gave her a knowing look, "I will always love you regardless of what you look like." He smiled at her and kissed her.

Lexi kissed him back and pushed herself against him, resting her hands on his shoulders.

Ace smiled to himself whilst kissing her, before moving his hands from her hips to her stomach to tickle her relentlessly – it took Lexi by surprise, and she immediately broke away from the kiss and laughed.

Her laughing made him smile, and how whenever she tried to talk her voice would be overcome by laughter, "Ace...that....that...tickles!"

Lexi's laughter stopped as soon as Ace stopped tickling her and pressed his lips against her. Whilst laughing she had somehow dropped to the floor, and so the two bunnies now sat against the wardrobe enjoying the moment of solitude and closeness, mixed with the strange feeling of quietness in the darkness of the room.

They embraced.

They kissed.

Happy.

Lovers.


	34. Scream

**Thanks for your awesome reviews, everyone!**

**Hopefully I'll get the next chapter written and posted ASAP - but this depends on how much spare time I have!**

**WARNINGS: SUGGESTIVENESS**

**ENJOY**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Lexi happily stared into the green eyes of her lover and kissed him before resting her head on his bare chest, so they could sleep and allow their bodies to rest after what they had just done together. She nestled her head into his brown fur and slept in the comforting warmth of his arms.

She awoke facing her bedside table, with some of her pillow in her view. She could feel no warm, moving body beneath her own, but instead arms encircling her waist. That was not how he usually held her as they slept.

Puzzled, Lexi turned around, her furred back nestling into his smooth chest. She looked at his tanned skin, his blonde hair, and his well toned torso. Her eyes widened and she turned her body to the other side, not wishing to see his face anymore...

"Lexi?"

Lexi jumped at the sound of his voice and looked to her left, seated next to her, his green eyes staring into her, was Tech.

"Lex? Are you okay, Lex?" She felt a warm hand touch her shoulder, and looked up at Ace; she had to strain her neck to do so, as he leaned over the chair on which she was sitting.

Lexi blinked several times before registering where she was. Seated at the kitchen table, an empty seat in front of her, Tech to her left, and Slam on her right. She gave a quick glance at Tech, glaring at him only slightly, and stood up.

She walked around the chair she had been seated at, intending to go to the cereal cupboard, but Ace stopped her. Speaking quietly, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "You fell asleep, Lex." He gave her a half smile.

"I'm aware of that..." She didn't make eye contact with him, and rubbed one of her eyes whilst staring down at the floor. She looked back up at him, however, when Ace began to speak again.

"Look, Lex," He spoke only just above a whisper, "I know you didn't get a lot of sleep last night, believe me; I didn't either. But you need to stop worryin' about your family, Lex," He stroked her hair and moved it out of her eye, "At da least try and enjoy yourself for a few days – if you have to, worry about tellin' dem later." Without him really noticing, Ace's voice returned to its regular volume and so all of the rest of the team couldn't help but listen in to the conversation that they tried not to pay attention to earlier. "Even if it's just for a few days, Lex, I t'ink after three years dey'd at least like to see you happy again."

Lexi looked up at Ace without speaking for some few moments, before, sighing, she spoke; "Yeah...you're right." She rubbed her eyes again and drew in a deep breath, before trying to pass Ace, "I need to get some breakfast before I starve, 'scuse me, Ace."

Ace moved out of the way, picking up his plate of toast which he had put down on the counter beside him earlier, and sat down beside Tech, who sat reading the newspaper. "Anyt'in' good happenin' in da world, Tech?"

Tech looked to his leader, "Take it," he passed over the newspaper, "I wasn't really reading it anyway." He stood up and left to go to the lab.

--

Rev took out his uniform shirt from the washing machine and placed it in the laundry basket beside him. He took out several socks and counted them all to make sure they were all in pairs; he then placed them on top of his uniform shirt and trousers in the basket, and shut the washing machine door.

He stood up with the basket in hand and noticed a light flashing on the washing machine above the one he had just used. The light flashed, indicating it had finished washing the load within it. He noted that it was the washing machine marked 'LEXI'.

All of the Loonatics had their own washing machines, it made it easier for them to wash their uniforms if they had been on a mission where they had gotten themselves unclean – they were labelled so no-one risked losing or misplacing their clothes, and to present some form of privacy – especially with the male-female factor within the team.

"Hey-Lex,-your-washing's-done." Rev said through his com unit as he put the wet, clean clothing into the dryer.

"Thanks, Rev." Lexi said as she came into the room, sounding slightly out of breath as she went to her machine and began to take out the washing.

"Are-you-alright,-Lex?" Rev asked from across the room as he loaded up the dryer.

Lexi shrugged, "I'm stressed out, tired, I've been rushing around all morning, and I'm... scared." She sighed.

Rev half-smiled at her, "It'll be okay, Lex. Like Ace said this morning, just enjoy spending time with them for the time being, worry about telling them later."

"Yeah," She half smiled, "I guess, thanks, Re..." She stopped when her phone vibrated within her side pocket; she took it out of the pocket in her uniform trousers and looked at the screen. She typed at the key pad for a few seconds before pocketing the phone, and continued, "Sorry. Thanks, Rev." She smiled.

"No-problem." He smiled, "Do-you-know-when-they'll-get-here?"

"That was one of my brothers just now; he said the flight lands here at 3 o'clock, so I guess perhaps they'll be here at...three thirty?" She sighed, "I have so much to do, I'll probably just skip lunch."

"Whoa! Wait a second!" Rev and Lexi turned to the doorway where Duck was, obviously having just heard the conversation as he walked down the halls. "Lexi, you're pregnant!"

"_Really_?" Lexi replied sarcastically as she crossed her arms.

Duck rolled his eyes, "You should be eating!" He sounded ecstatic, before sighing and speaking again, "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but...I'll help you get everything ready!"

Lexi straightened up and uncrossed her arms, "Really?"

Duck shrugged, "If it means I know you would've eaten something – you're eating for two now. Besides, I realised I've kinda been a jerk to you lately, and figured you could use a bit of help."

Rev raised an eyebrow and glanced at Lexi, "Have-you-been-drinking-or-did-someone-hit-you-over-the-head-with-something?"

"I just wanna help you, Lex!" He looked up to think for a moment, "And I think maybe Slam put sugar in _my _tea this time...perhaps that's why I'm acting so out of the ordinary..."

Lexi giggled, "Thanks, Duck."

Rev smiled, "I-can-help-too,-with-my-super-speed-I-can-get-things-done-really-quickly, -that-way-you-and-Ace-might-get-a-chance-to-spend-some-time-together-before-your-family-comes."

Lexi hesitated, as she looked up at Rev, before sighing slightly, "...Yeah..."

Duck and Rev exchanged glances, "Where-is-Ace-anyway?" Rev raised an eyebrow, wondering about Lexi's previous answer, and trying to assume what she would say to this question.

Lexi shrugged, "Not sure, I haven't seen him, Tech or Slam since breakfast."

"Oh," Duck perked up, "I know. Slam's doing the washing up, Ace _was _in the training room, but now he and Tech are looking at one of Tech's new experiments – I was actually on my way there."

Lexi nodded, "Anyway, are you guys sure you're okay with helping?"

Rev and Duck nodded.

"Great," She half-smiled, "Could one of you go and..." Lexi was interrupted when the ground shook and a large sounding explosion reverberated through the rooms. Lexi jumped and her eyes widened at the sound.

"Well that sounded larger than normal." Duck remarked as the trio left the laundry room at a quickened pace, with Slam following from the kitchen down the hall.

Rev reached the door to the lab, followed by Slam and then Lexi, with Duck (and his shorter legs) reaching the door last. Lexi bit her lip and pounded her fists against the door, eyes wide, she shouted to the rest of her team, "Open it!"

Rev punched a button on the key pad and the doors slid open, plumes of smoke wafting out of the lab as they did so. Slam spun himself into a Tornado to clear away the smoke, as the rest of the team made their way into Tech's lab in search of their friends.

Objects were strewn all over the lab, chairs and desks were turned over, while wires and paper littered the floor – there were no fires, but the room still smelt faintly of smoke even after Slam had finished 'absorbing' the smoke, and helped his team to find Tech and Ace.

Lexi turned around after hearing the whirring noise that accompanied the green glow which made up Tech's regeneration ability. He stood up, and braced himself against a bench, before wheezing slightly, with Rev and Duck immediately going over to him to find out if he was okay.

Lexi turned back to try and find Ace, if Tech had been reduced to a pile of ash; she worried at what would have happened to Ace. She stepped over a chair and lost her footing slightly and stumbled, as her arms reached out to find something to hold to stop her from falling, she felt a familiar strong, comforting grip – a hand grabbed her wrist.

Lexi stood up-right and gave a worried look to Ace, "Ace, oh my god; are you okay?!" She looked him over before looking up at him.

Ace's voice was somewhat hoarse; he had been exposed to a lot of smoke, and had some tears on the arms and legs of his uniform, but no actual cuts. He gave a rub to his back, "I got thrown against a bench and fell behind it, so it..." He had to pause to cough, "...it shielded me a bit..." He coughed again, "...from everyt'in' else."

Lexi frowned at him, "At least you're...kind of...okay." She hugged him before letting go, "Maybe we should get out of here, it's pretty dark and...Dangerous." She looked up to see various light bulbs flickering as they turned off, and then on again continuously.

The two bunnies looked over to the rest of the team, Ace was more worse for wares than Tech was – partially due to the coyote's powers. Physically the scientist was fine, but mentally...

"My lab!" He looked around, his voice breaking slightly, "It looks like a Tornado's been through here!"

Several grunts burst fourth from Slam, who tried to stutter an explanation, with no luck he merely ended with, "...Sorry."

Tech gave a small smile and his shoulders dropped, "Worse has happened before, it shouldn't take too long to fix this, but I think right now I'd much rather get out of here for a while first." He let out a small cough because of the smoke fumes and the dust caused by the explosion.

"Wow," Duck said sarcastically, "Finally you want to get out of here – usually we have to pry you out...you're leaving willingly. Let's write this down in the record books!"

The team smiled, while Tech let out a low growl as they began to leave the lab – having to step over objects whilst doing so.

Lexi tried to support Ace as they walked – knowing he at least had a sore back from being blown against a workbench, so she didn't want him to hurt himself walking. It was somewhat awkward for her, he was taller and heavier than her; and so he did his best to not lean against her when she offered – afraid he would only hinder their exit, which of course made Lexi's plan of helping him obsolete.

She gave him a weak smile before sighing and looking to the floor, but looked back up at Ace when he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and grinned at him.

Rev smiled as he walked, "At-least-everyone-got-out-okay..."

Rev was interrupted when he heard a "Whoa!" come from the direction of Ace and Lexi, and looked to their direction with the rest of the team, just in time to see the female bunny fall to the floor.

"Frick." She muttered under her breath as she rubbed her ankle.

Ace carefully bent down beside her, not wishing to hurt himself as well, "Are you okay?"

Lexi looked up at him and the other members of her team when she noticed they were trying to approach, "Guys, don't worry, I'm fine." She began to stand up, but sat down immediately afterwards when pain shot through her foot, "Or not!" She said through widened eyes.

Tech walked over to see if he could offer her some help, he knelt down in front of her, "Looks like you've got a wire caught on your ankle, let me...", He reached forward to help, but she pulled her foot away, the wires becoming taught as they were stretched to their limit, only making themselves tighter around her ankle. She gave Tech a stern look, "_Don't_ touch me."

Tech gave a confused look, and saw his facial expression mirrored with Ace's, when they both turned back to Lexi, she had removed her foot from the net of wires and was attempting to get up. Ace offered her his arm for her to hold onto as she stood up, while Tech stood up in front of her, offended by her behaviour towards him, but willing to lend assistance if she needed help.

She stood and let go of Ace's arm, "Let's go." She muttered, keeping a wary eye on the coyote in front of her.

Ace and Tech exchanged glances, "Lexi...are you sure you can walk? You fell pretty badly dere." Ace placed a hand on her shoulder.

Lexi sighed and took a few steps forward, away from him and Tech, mentally cursing from the pain which she managed to physically hide, "I'm fine."

--

Ace opened the door to his bedroom and walked in, the door shutting behind him. He walked to his bed, and looked down at Lexi, who lay on top of the covers on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Lex, are you sure you're okay? You skipped out pretty quickly after lunch." He knelt down on the floor beside her.

Lexi turned to him, "I'm just tired, Ace. I needed to lie down."

Ace half smiled and gave a glance to her legs, with one raised by a pillow where her injured foot rested, "What about your foot?"

Lexi sat up, supporting herself using her forearms as she looked down at her feet, "It hurts a bit, it's nothing bad though, I probably just twisted my ankle." She sat up properly and looked at him, "You're worse off than me, anyway; how's your back?"

Ace frowned and sat beside her, Lexi having to move to the side to give him the space to do so, "It hurts a bit," He lay back against the pillows which were resting against the headboard, sitting upright he smiled, "Dat feels better."

Lexi smiled and kissed him, "Good to hear."

Ace shut his eyes, and without opening them, turned his head towards Lexi, "So...have you got everyt'in' ready dat you need for your family?"

Lexi nodded as Ace opened his eyes, "I'm pretty sure."

Ace pulled Lexi over to him and wrapped his arms around her, she leaned into him and shut her eyes, "I'm sorry I didn't really give you a hand with your preparations for your family...I really should've, save Rev and Duck havin' to do it instead."

Lexi turned back to him, "its fine, Ace. You did the breakfast dishes, and you had to look at an experiment of Tech's...you were busy, it's fine." She smiled.

Ace nodded. "Okay." She turned away from him, "Lexi, why did you act so...harshly towards Tech today?"

Lexi tensed up and didn't look back at him, the dream she had had that morning replaying in the back of her mind, "What...what do you mean?"

Ace found it peculiar that she didn't look at him, that _and_ he noticed and felt when she tensed up; which made him more suspicious and concerned over her. "I saw you glare at him, and when he tried to see if you were okay, you shouted at him to not touch you. Has he...has he done somet'in' to you, Lex?"

Lexi sighed, and racked her brains for an answer. She couldn't tell him about the dream, he'd freak out – especially after how she had confirmed last night that she didn't have any feelings towards Tech or Alex. And not to mention how the dream had implied that both aforementioned males had bedded her. She gulped.

"Lex?" His voice sounded concerned and annoyed at the same time, and Lexi could feel herself begin to sweat. "Tell me, Lex."

"There's nothing to tell." He voice broke as she spoke. She wiggled out of his arms and jumped off the bed, letting out a slight groan when her injured foot told her it was _still _sore when pressure was put on it, and she leant against the bed for support, her face contorted with pain as she breathed heavily.

Ace sat up and stood up next to her, "Lexi, Lex?!" He furrowed her eyes brows, "Lex, I t'ink you need to stay off dat foot for a while. Lex?" He used his hand to turn her head to face him, as it had previously been obscured from his vision, and saw tears in her eyes, as well as her pained expression. "Lex." He frowned, and sat her down on his bed.

He knelt down in front of her and carefully took off the shoe and sock which covered her injured foot. "I'm gonna get some ice for dat, it looks a bit swollen. Just stay here for da afternoon, watch a bit of TV; I don't really t'ink you should be walkin' around on dat, at least not until da swelling goes down."

Lexi frowned, "Ace, I just twisted my ankle," She wiped away one of the tears from her cheek, "It's fine. I want to be able to see my family when they come."

Ace half smiled at her and rubbed her leg, "Dey won't be here for another three hours, Lex. Dat's three hours you could be spendin' makin' your foot better. At least stay off it until dey get here, you guys'll be talkin' for a while, I'm sure, and so you'll be able to sit down. Just don't do too much walkin' about until dey come."

Lexi nodded, "Okay."

Ace kissed her and left the room to get a pack of ice, wincing slightly himself as he stood up because of the pain in his back.

Lexi frowned when he returned, "Ace you should be resting, too, it looks like you really hurt yourself."

Ace smiled, "I'm fine, Lex. I wanna make sure you're okay today. Your family won't be interested with me, if I need to, I'll come here and have a lie down, whereas you can't really do dat." He placed the bag of ice, which had some cloth wrapped around it so it would be too cold against her, onto her foot and balanced it there.

He heard Lexi suck in some air as he put the ice on her foot, and turned back to her. "Its c-c-cold." She half smiled at him.

Ace smiled back, "Don't worry," he waved his hand in a relaxed fashion, "you won't feel it eventually."

Lexi smirked at him as he stood up to turn on the TV that sat opposite to the bed, and shut the curtains so the glare of light from the sun wouldn't stop them from being able to see the TV properly.

He came back, and took out the remote from his bedside draw, stealing a quick glance at the folded up piece of paper he kept in there, before giving a slight glance back to Lexi. He smiled to himself.

"What?" He heard Lexi say from behind him.

Ace turned back to his inquisitive companion and smiled, changing the channels to a comedy as he put his arm around her shoulders, "Not'in', I was just t'inkin' about somet'in'."

--

15:07

"So, Lex," Ace said, turning off the TV. "Are you sure you have everyt'in' ready?"

Lexi looked up to think, "I know where everyone'll be sleeping – and I made sure there would still be space for your family."

Ace furrowed his eyebrows, "Lucky you thought of dat, I didn't."

Lexi smiled. "Well, we've got two spare rooms with two double beds in, and two that have one double bed. I thought my parents, and your parents could have the rooms with one bed in. While your uncle and cousin can have separate beds in the other room, and my brothers can share beds in the other two-bed room – they're used to it when we've gone to hotels, so they won't mind."

"And da others?" Ace raised en eyebrow, wondering if she had forgotten her sisters and friend.

"They can have my room. I washed my hammock this morning...since...you and I...well – I figured it probably wasn't clean..."

Ace smirked.

"...and Duck and Rev...Hopefully...put the fold out bed-mattress thingy in my room. So someone can have the hammock, and two people can sleep in the other thingy. Alex did say that if there isn't enough room he's fine if someone wants to crash at his place, but I think we're good." She smiled.

"Good." Ace smiled. "Looks like you've got everyt'in' all together."

Lexi chuckled, "Yeah...for once." She placed a hand on her lower abdomen and sighed.

Ace sighed as well, and frowned. "Lexi. If dere's anyone your parents should be mad at, it's me – dis...dis was an accident...a...a mistake...kind of...a one off. Your parents will understand, how young were dey when dey had kids?"

Lexi looked up to think, "Mum and Dad got married when mum was twenty-one, and dad was twenty-three...and had Spencer when mum was twenty-four – so...fairly young I guess. We're only a few years off that. And...mum told me once, Teresa, my younger sister – whose the youngest in the family – wasn't exactly a planned baby, that's why there's a seven-eight year gap between her and me. But mum, like me, never believed in terminating a pregnancy, so they kept her. But don't say anything, Ace," She gave him a stern look, "Teresa doesn't know. She's...in puberty right now, so she's got enough to be worried and stressed out about, we don't want her thinking she '_wasn't wanted'_ or anything like that."

Ace nodded, "'Kay, I won't say anyt'in'. It's not really my business anyway. But it is good in a way. My parents had me pretty young, my parents were twenty-one when dey had me, and got married only a year before dat – So dat's pretty much how we are!"

"Except we're not married." Lexi added.

"Yeah..." Ace said, somewhat more quietly, "But what I mean is, dey can't exactly say we're too young to have kids since we're almost da ages dey were. You'll be twenty in October; I'm already twenty-one – dat's how my parents were...pretty much."

Lexi nodded, "So that's your parents out of the way. But I think mine'll be harder to convince. They're...kinda traditional in a way. They've always thought of the whole...be married before you have kids, thing, and that's how I was brought up - thinking the same would happen to me – I'd be married, then have kids. But in reality I got knocked up by my best friend...and...and I don't even know what's...gonna...happen between...u-us." Her sentence became stuttered as she started to sob.

Ace pulled her into a hug, "Hey," He rubbed her back, "Who's to say we'll never get married? And what do you mean by 'you don't know what'll happen between us'? We've gone through dis much together; somehow I t'ink it'd take somet'in' huge to split us up." He rubbed her back, "come on, you're a bit hormonal right now, I t'ink, but its okay for you to cry – I know right now it's probably hard for you to control. But not'in's gonna happen between us, not'in' bad anyway. Cheer up, Lex." He smiled at her, "where's dat beautiful smile of yours I love so much?"

Lexi felt cheered up by his words, and sniffed before smiling.

"Dere it is!" Ace smiled and kissed her, "I'll go and make you a drink." He got up off the bed, "Seriously Lex," He looked back at her, "Just try and stop worryin' about t'ings dat are so distant, focus on now – Your family'll be here in fifteen minutes or so, be excited about dat, not upset about what might happens to us in..._years_ to come." He smiled at her before exiting the room.

Lexi sighed and looked down at the bed beneath her, "Well what if it happened in a few days to come?"

--

15:27

Lexi glanced at the digital clock on her right, noticing the time; she was about to sit up; but the vibration of her phone on the bedside table stopped her. She picked up her cell phone and looked at the text message which appeared on-screen. She tapped at the numbers for a few seconds, before putting the phone back on the bed-side table, and started to stand up; just as Ace came into their room.

"Heeey, Lex, Lex, Lex!" He ran over, his voice cautious, wanting to be sure she got up alright. "Let me help you." He took hold of her arms.

"No, Ace; I'm fine." She stood up right and took a deep breath, "its fine...it...doesn't hurt."

"You sure?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

Lexi shrugged, "I said it doesn't hurt, Ace, its fine."

Ace half smiled, "Try walkin' on it for a sec, just in case."

Lexi walked around the bed to the other side, with Ace following beside her, "See – fine." She smiled, "Now I can see my family – one of my brothers just text me; they've left the airport and are on their way here in a taxi."

Ace nodded, "Okay. I just need to speak to Tech, I'll be back in a minute – but if your foot starts hurtin', sit down, don't try and walk on it regardless of if it hurts – your family'll understand if you have to sit down."

Lexi nodded, "Okay." She watched Ace as he left the room, before wincing and taking several deep breaths. She rotated her foot around, and shut her eyes from the pain, "Crap." She muttered. She sat down on the bed for a few seconds before standing up and slowly leaving the room.

She walked into the kitchen, when she realised that Duck, Rev and Slam were standing in the kitchen, talking, she did her best to hide the pain she felt in her food. She smiled at them and sat down in a chair.

They continued with their conversation while Lexi sat, staring at the fruit bowl in the centre of the table. With her family drawing so close, she started to become nervous – they would be staying for a few days before Ace's family would come, and then she and Ace would have to explain their big mistake - their parents' first grand-child.

She felt sweat develop on her forehead, and her heart thump harder against her rib-cage, almost being able to hear it herself.

Rev stood beside her and smiled, putting a glass of a pink-orange liquid in front of her, she looked up at him, "It's-my-super-booster-pick-me-up-shake. It-might-make-you-feel-better."

Lexi smiled, "Thanks, Rev..." She was interrupted when a tuned beep was emitted from the door.

"Will that be them?" Duck asked Lexi as he walked to the door.

Lexi gulped and nodded, feeling her heart drop into her stomach as Duck pressed a button on the intercom, "Come on up." He pressed another button which would cause the elevator to go to the ground floor, and return to the one-hundred and twenty-fifth floor of the building – where the team was now.

The intercom was a security measure so the Loonatics always knew who was coming, rather than it be a criminal trying to break in. The button was to allow the elevator to go to the ground floor so that no unexpected guest – if they managed to break the security systems – would even be able to reach the floor the Loonatics resided on. But with their key card, the Loonatics were able to get in simply, only having to have their irises scanned before entering the main living area as an extra precaution.

Lexi took a sip from the drink as Tech and Ace entered the kitchen area, having heard the sound from the intercom.

"Are they here?" Tech asked as the two walked down the steps into the kitchen. The coyote leant against a bench, while Ace stood behind Lexi with a hand on her shoulder.

"They're coming up." Duck replied. The team all gave a glance to Lexi, whose whole persona was submission and anxiety. They all knew that her family, unless they were simpletons, would definitely notice her worried behaviour.

Ace rubbed her shoulder, "It'll be fine." He smiled.

Lexi looked up at him and gave him a weak smile, just as the doorbell rang. The team left the kitchen to go up the stairs into the main part of the room, so they could answer the door.

Lexi walked slowly, with Ace's arm around her, she clutched her stomach at one point and made a groaning noise. The rest of the team looked back at her, "I think I'm gonna throw up..." She said quietly.

Ace rubbed her back, "Breathe, Lex." He smiled at her, feeling worried but slightly excited at the same time – he would be meeting the family of his girlfriend....but would also be telling them that he was the one who impregnated her.

"You wanna answer it, Lex?" Tech looked back at her, as he was the closest to the door.

Lexi hesitated, which somewhat worried her team, before nodding, she slowly stepped forward.

She felt as though every step took her further away from the door, and felt her heart start to beat quickly again. She knew she had to feign excitement and happiness for at least a week; so that her family wouldn't be concerned that something was wrong – but she wondered how long she would be able to keep up the façade, especially considering how she was now.

She bit her lip and took a deep breath as she pressed the button to open the door. The two doors slid apart, in what seemed like slow motion, before finally, the group were revealed in front of her.

She hesitated and smiled weakly, "Hey, guys."


	35. Sleep

**I apologise for the huge delay!**

**I was busy and I also had Spring Break which I spent with friends - as well as deciding to take a small break. I also had a problem with a very annoying Writer's Block which stopped me from writing and unfortunately caused me to not give you an update until almost two months after the pervious update! Sorry about that!**

**Hopefully you'll forgive me, as this chapter is an extra long one!**

**Once again, I apologise for the delay!**

**WARNINGS: SOME SUGGESTIVENESS**

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS! 

**ENJOY**

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DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

Lexi looked up at the four taller males on the other side of the door. They were all the same peach-tan colour that she was, but were at least a foot taller than she was (measured by head height, not ear height).

"Lex!" One smiled as he pulled her into a hug, picking her up a little as he did so.

Lexi smiled and hugged him back, before embracing the others in the same way, "I missed you guys." She looked up at all of them, "Come in." She checked around the door as her brothers walked in, before turning back and shutting the door, "Where're the others?" She walked back from the door and further into the room, past her brothers, and closer to her team mates – but to the position where she was standing at equidistance from both groups.

One of them spoke with his arms crossed, "Dad couldn't get off work until five, and Leah's not gonna be able to get out of the hospital until five-thirty, so they're getting a flight down here at eight-thirty, so they might not get here until midnight or one-ish - sorry about that."

Lexi shrugged, "I'll stay up...hopefully." She looked up to think, "...Someone might be up...probably...hopefully...maybe..."

She turned back to the rest of the Loonatics, "Er...right, Guys," She turned back to her brothers before looking to her team again, "These are my brothers: Pete, Mitchell, Michael and Spencer." She looked to her brothers, "And guys, this is Rev, Tech, Duck, Slam and Ace." They all shook hands and gave small greetings to each other.

Spencer, the eldest of Lexi's brothers, who was slightly taller than the others – was clad in a chequered black and green shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and dark blue jeans, with Aviator sunglasses tucked into a pocket on his shirt. Pete, the second eldest – and the one who Lexi had hugged first – was only perhaps half an inch shorter than his older brother, and was clad in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Michael and Mitchell were dressed similarly to Spencer, while Michael had a plain red shirt on over blue jeans, and Mitchell had on a T-shirt with 'Green Day' written on it, with a blue shirt left open over the top.

Lexi stood awkwardly in between the two groups, and put a hand to the back of her neck in an anxious manner – a habit she had picked up from spending so much time with the Loonatics. She wondered what to do, whether she should talk herself, and find out about her friends and family back home, or try to allow the two groups to make conversation so they could bond. She let out a small sigh and suddenly felt nine pairs of eyes on her – which made her uncomfortable; that _and_ the pain she was starting to feel in her foot again because she had been standing up for a while now.

Ace walked up to her and addressed her brothers, "Er, do you want us" he gestured to the rest of the team (minus Lexi) "to go so you guys can catch up...Or..."

Lexi's brothers looked at each other, considering, before Pete spoke, "Well, it'd be nice to get to know you guys as well; you know, so we can meet the people that have been keeping Lex from seeing us." He smiled, allowing the somewhat nervous Loonatics to realise that he wasn't accusing them of anything, but merely making a joke.

Lexi half-smiled and gave a small chuckle, "I would've gone to see you, but....with the job and stuff...we can never firmly know if one of us left to go somewhere, that there wouldn't be some end of the world crisis happen. Besides, plane tickets are expensive, and I tend to spend my money on awesome tee-shirts and basic living essentials."

Michael scoffed and stood with his hands in his pockets, "Like what?"

"Books and tampons." She said simply whilst giving a firm nod, the last item she said made the males in the room widen their eyes at the information which didn't really need to be listed, "...and toothpaste...and soap, and...Well - the list goes on."

Ace smiled and shook his head, "Shall we sit down, at least...to talk." He gave a glance to Lexi as everyone headed to the 'U' shaped sofa arrangement.

"Thanks." She whispered when she noticed him look down at her foot – offering for them to sit down was his way of wanting to make sure Lexi was able to stay off her foot, but without making it obvious that Lexi had hurt herself.

Ace knew from Alex, and from Lexi herself, that her brothers were protective – but he thought that they would understand and be okay with knowing that she had an injury because; things happen. But after seeing them, and noticing that they were taller than him, and more visibly muscular – he had second thoughts about how they might react to finding out that their younger sister had been injured...an injury which was caused by an explosion...which was caused by one of her own team mates...in their own home.

While everyone else sat, with Lexi and Ace taking up the rear – having not even sat down yet, Pete – who was also still standing up, spoke, "Er, hey, is it okay if I take a quick shower? I didn't have the chance to since we had to go or we'd miss the flight."

"How long does it take to shower?" Duck raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Not long, but it's a four hour drive from our town to Salt Lake City." Lexi replied, she looked to her brothers, "I miss it there, it's pretty – but Phoenix is cooler...well....it's warmer....but it's more awesome."

"...Let me guess....because some of your favourite bands come from there that you and the others go there." Mitchell smiled.

"Pretty much." She smiled. "...And yeah, sure – you can shower, sorry, Pete, I almost forgot that you asked." Lexi smiled as she looked at Pete, turning around and walking up the ramp from the sunken living area, "I'll show you where your room is." Pete followed her, quickly grabbing his bag containing his belongings, and followed her through the corridor.

Ace sighed quietly, he didn't have a problem with Lexi wanting to spend time with her brothers while they were there, but she also needed to look after her foot or something worse could happen. But then he remembered Lexi telling him about the incident three years ago – and how Pete had been the one to find her. Ace considered that perhaps she had gone to talk to him, that or she just thought that she should be the one to show him where his room was.

Ace remained standing up as he thought, but after he was roused from his contemplation by Duck calling his name, he spoke, "Anyone want a drink?"

After receiving a number of answers saying 'Yes', and remembering what everyone wanted, Ace went across to the kitchen and set about making everyone their requested drink, while the rest of the team made conversation with Lexi's brothers.

"So what do you guys do?" Duck asked, "Lexi said you were pilots, is that like...airline, you know, commercial stuff?"

"No." Spencer leaned forward to talk, "We're in the air force."

"Well...training, anyway." Michael corrected his brother with a laugh from an apparent inside joke.

Mitchell remained focussed as his two brothers laughed about an unspecified thing, "We _will _be naval aviators, but right now we're in training so we can go over to California in January and start flying there."

"So are you learning how to fly, or is it technical stuff now?" Tech asked – it was obvious that the scientist wanted to know about this, with pilots having to know a lot involving mathematics and some general physics.

"Well..." Spencer looked up to think, "We've already been to flight school, now it's a case of...fine tuning the flying so that we know about air combat and stuff for when we go onto aircraft carriers and start doing patrols."

--

Lexi pressed a button on the door to one of the spare rooms causing the doors to open. A fresh scent wafted out of the doors towards the brother and sister as the pneumatic doors opened.

The room was themed blue and white. Some areas were a dark blue, while others were light blue, and other parts were white. The dark blue curtains which took up the entire length of the wall opposite to the door where the two bunnies stood, behind the curtains – which had been pulled back to reveal the window, showed the view of the city below them.

In the left corner next to the window was a door into the bathroom, while on the light blue wall to the right of the window was a framed photo of the Acmetropolis skyline at night, while two double beds were below it, separated by a white bedside table with a blue lamp on it.

The covers on the beds consisted of two dark blue pillows (one on either side of the bed) with a light blue pillow in front of each pillow. The bed covers were dark blue and light blue striped, while the sheets were white.

Opposite to the beds was a simple wall length white set of cupboards with a large TV set on top of it. A chair was pulled up against one table, with a lamp on the desk above it for reading and writing purposes. A fan also sat on top of one of the desks because of the heat lately.

Lexi stepped in and turned towards her brother behind her. "Is this okay? I hope you guys don't mind sharing beds." Lexi smiled at Pete.

"Its fine, Lex" He smiled as he looked around.

"Yeah, well...it's just that mum and dad need a room and Ace's parents will be here too in less than a week..."

Pete furrowed his eyebrows with confusion and turned to his sister, having just heard that piece of information. She, however, seemed unaware of his sudden confusion, and continued speaking.

"...So, had they not been coming...you would've gotten your own bed...it's just that, yeah, we...need to fit everyone in." She noticed how he looked, "What?"

Pete furrowed his eyebrows, "You said Ace's parents were coming..."

"Yeah." Lexi replied, "Ace is the other rabbit..."

"...Yeah, I can remember who he is. But...why are they coming too, was it just coincidence?"

Lexi felt her heart thud again, she hadn't anticipated they'd ask that; and so she hadn't been able to think of an answer. Now she thought of it, it would seem weird for two families to come at the same time...especially the families of a male and female member for the team. Lexi wondered whether it would be obvious or not that they had been asked to come because of something such as a proposal or...pregnancy. Lexi grimaced.

She shrugged, feigning repose, "Yeah, I guess." She sighed, she didn't want to have to lie to her family too much for the next week, it would only make it worse when she told them – as she would have to explain why she covered lots of things up, and then her family may feel betrayed – and would feel as though she felt she wouldn't have been able to tell them.

"Weird." Pete said, looking through his bag as he pulled out various belongings.

Lexi sat on the bed where his suitcase rested, "I swear you guys just keep getting taller." She smiled.

Pete chuckled to himself, "Nah," he ruffled her hair, "you're just short."

Lexi groaned, "Hey," she said, smoothing down her hair, "its bad enough I know dad'll do that, I don't need you doing that, too."

Pete smiled, "So...have you been okay here? You stopped calling home after a while – the others assumed you must have settled in better...but...I couldn't help but wonder if everything was alright...you know..."

Lexi half-smiled, "The guys are really nice, you'll see. They look after me, we all look after each other, Duck's kinda arrogant, but...he's okay , you know, he cares and is a great member of the team, he just...enjoys making snide comments that can be...annoying sometimes." She looked down at the bed, remembering several occasions where Duck had been a jackass to her, but when he had also helped her out as well.

"So they don't...mistreat you or anything?"

Lexi's eyes widened, "What? No! Of course not! I would've told you guys if they did. I'm second in command, they don't...they don't bully me, or make me do all the work...or...what you're thinking – they definitely don't do that!"

Lexi sighed, "Pete, listen...the guys are my friends, they're like family – they'd never do what that guy did, they _never_ would." She looked down, and then up at him, "Pete...I'm...I'm starting to get over it, maybe you should as well – I don't want you thinking that I constantly need looking after, 'cause that's just gonna make you stressed out. And I don't want that." She fiddled with one of his shirts on the bed next to her, "The guys helped me, Pete. And I know that it affected you a bit, too, but if I can start to get over it, I really think you should as well."

Pete sighed, "I don't want to forget what happened..."

"...I'm not saying you have to. All I'm saying is that you, and everyone else, including the guys back home, need to stop beating yourselves up over it. With hindsight – yeah, I should've gone the next day or...I shouldn't have gotten distracted...or...I should have gone with someone. But, Pete, hindsight is such a useful thing - but only when you have the ability to change what happened. There's no point dwelling on what should've, or could've been done – no one knew that would happen. The least we can do, is move on, and be aware of stuff like that in the future, but not dwell on it." She searched his blue eyes for an answer.

"Yeah," he sighed and sat down next to her, "I just didn't want anything like that to ever happen to you, or anyone! I never wanted to see you like that...all alone...upset, I never wanted to have you be afraid of us after it happened, and I never wanted you to decide to leave home because it was the only way you could get closure..."

"...But I have had closure, Pete." Lexi sighed, "Not fully – I doubt that'll ever happen...but, the guys have helped me...when I told Ace, he was supportive, and - the guys have always known about stuff like that and when I've said I'm going out, they act like dad: they always want to know where I'll be, when I'll be back, and sometimes one of them would come with me, too – and that was before I even told them. Now they know they're even more cautious; which I'm thankful for – it makes me feel safe...well, safer than I normally would be with them."

"Why'd you tell them?"

Lexi shrugged, "They're my team mates, and they deserve to know if it could affect my behaviour...which it did when I first came into the team, but you know about that. It took a while before I could tell them, it was only a week or two ago that I did, but it feels better that they know, then have to hide a...." She gulped, suddenly feeling nervous, "...it's better than keeping a huge secret from people I care about." She looked down at the sheets and felt her heartbeat rise again.

Pete rubbed her back, "I'm glad you're okay, anyway." He pulled her into a small hug. He kissed the top of her head and stood up with his spare clothes in hand for him to wear for when he got out of the shower, "I'll see you in a little bit."

Lexi smiled and sighed as he left to go to the bathroom situated in the spare room, and shut the door behind himself. Not long after that she heard the water turn on. She stood up, hearing commotion coming from the main room – her brothers and team mates laughing,

She left the room, only to be met with the sight of Ace. He gave her a weak smile, "Hey, Lex."

Lexi gave him a confused look, "Did you hear all of that?"

"No." Ace smiled and took her hand, "I just came to talk to you," He led her into his room and shut the door, they remained by the door to speak, "Are you gonna tell dem dat we're together?"

Lexi gave him a confused look, "Of course!"

Ace half smiled, "You sure they'd be okay with dat?"

Lexi furrowed her eyebrows, "Ace, they're not axe wielding murderers." She smiled and started to leave.

Ace moved in front of the door to stop her from leaving, "I just...I know they're protective of you, and I don't want dem to worry...or..."

"...Ace." Lexi stopped him, "if we don't tell our families we're together, how do you think they'll react when the find out...that...I'm..." She whispered, "You know...."

Ace frowned, "I just don't want dem to act...weird, you know...dey might be really..._funny _about it because dey don't know me...and...after what happened to you..." He put his arms around her, "Who knows how dey might act, and I don't want to lose you!"

Lexi frowned, "Ace, they won't go weird around you. I'll make sure they don't – They need to stop getting so worked up over me. I want them to know that I'm not incapable of _everything_!"

Ace half-smiled and kissed her, "Sorry."

"Don't be." Lexi smiled.

Ace kissed her again, "If dey ask you somet'in', and you don't know how to answer, I'll step in; I'm good at t'inkin' quickly." He gave her a smile.

Lexi smiled and kissed him, "Thanks." Ace smiled and kissed her back.

"I guess we won't be doin' dat for a while." He sighed.

Lexi rolled her eyes and smiled him and pressed herself closer to him, "You guessed wrong," She kissed him again, "Just 'cause my family are here doesn't mean we can stop doing anything we'd do if they weren't here – the guys live here too, they don't complain."

Lexi smiled at him and left the room. Ace stood there for a while, and eventually leant against the door and let out a sigh. He felt awkward, he didn't want to hang around with Lexi and kiss her with her brothers around, and he would feel especially awkward with them getting up to any activities during the night with her brothers staying in the same area. He grimaced, it would be annoying, and difficult for him, not to mention embarrassing and potentially dangerous for him as well.

With that thought, he let out another sigh, rubbed his eyes, before regaining his composure and leaving the room. He began to walk towards the main room, when Tech approached, looking as though he was headed for the lab based on his direction and speed.

The coyote stopped when he saw Ace, and walked over to him, "Hey, chief, you got a sec?"

"Yeah, sure." Ace replied, as they walked further down the hallway to ensure that no one would hear them, "What's up?" Ace looked at the coyote.

"Do you know what's up with Lex? She seemed to be acting pretty weird around me this morning – she won't make eye contact with me, either, and if she does, she glares."

Ace gave the coyote a confused look, "Huh, weird. She's probably just stressed out, with not seein' her family for a while...with da news we've gotta tell dem, and she's worried dat we won't get along."

Tech let out a small chuckle, "She does like to worry."

Ace half-smiled, "Yeah, last night she was wakin' up every half hour after t'inkin' of somet'in' to do with her family, and she'd start getting' really freaked out and worried."

"That'd explain her falling asleep at the table this morning, then."

"Yeah." Ace stiffled a yawn, "I wonder how we'll do with stayin' up to wait for da rest of her family, after a night like last night."

Tech gave a small smile, "Well, I've got a lot of cleaning to do in my lab, you guys could crash, I'll probably still be up by the time they get here, and I'll let them in."

Ace rolled his eyes, "You were goin' to da lab right now weren't you?" He raised an eyebrow.

Tech knew that the question was rhetorical, all his friends knew of his unhealthy obsession with his lab, "Yeah." He sighed, defeated.

Ace shook his head slowly, "Not dis time. You will not step foot in dat lab today, tomorrow, or da day after dat – or at least not until I say you can; I am your leader, so dat's an order."

Tech frowned.

Ace sighed, "Look, you might t'ink it's unfair since it's not dat important to you, but I t'ink you should get to know Lexi's family, and mine too. Besides, you'll seem anti-social if you always disappear off to your lab whenever we have company – it'll be good for your reputation."

"Yeah..." Tech sighed as he followed Ace down the corridor towards the main room, "but my reputation came from being the youngest student in Acmetropolis' history to receive a PHD in astrophysics."

Ace sighed and turned around, "Yeah, well I did physics and math too at college, but you don't see me cooped up in a lab all day long, I like to get around, and spend time with my friends."

"Yeah, the amount of time you spend with your 'friends' in incredible, you even have sleepovers with your second in command!"

Ace turned around upon hearing the unfriendly, yet amazingly familiar voice of Duck approaching them. Ace gave the mallard a stern look, "Don't test my patience, Duck. And where are you going? Don't tell me you're gonna go and disappear too?"

Duck scoffed, "I thought this was a free country, is a man no longer allowed to leave the company of his friend's family to pee? I'd do it in the living room but I'd be afraid to offend Lexi." He continued walking to his room where a bathroom was located.

Ace sighed and rolled his eyes, as he walked back towards the main room, with Tech following.

Ace sat down beside Lexi on the sofa, while Tech sat near to Slam; apparently they had walked into a conversation regarding some of Lexi's friends from Utah – a conversation in which Lexi was talking, with her brothers, Rev and Slam laughing.

"...and then he fell out of the tree, and landed on Mikey, but his guitar got stuck up in the tree. So then they all started throwing stuff like rocks up there to dislodge it so it'd fall out, but since we all suck at sports....they missed the branches of the tree but hit his guitar – and that's how we killed it!" Lexi laughed to herself, "Its actually astounding how attached all of them are to their guitars, seriously – if you want Sam to do anything, just grab her guitar and threaten to cut the strings and she'd do anything!"

Her brothers, as well as the rest of the Loonatics laughed, "I'll remember that!" Mitchell smiled.

"Hey, Ace." Lexi smiled at him after she had finished speaking, and moved closer to him, perhaps a more subtle approach would be best to show her family that she and Ace were together.

--

"So you're still not gonna tip me...?"

Duck slammed the door on the pizza delivery boy, the same one who they had rescued when he had become possessed by a parasite during the same time that Rev's family had come to visit. "We saved your butt, yet you still expect a tip." Duck muttered as he walked back holding a stack of pizza boxes.

"Pizza!" Slam shouted in delight as he spun himself over to Duck to take half of the pizza boxes which he would eat, while Rev helped Duck to deliver the correct boxes of pizza to all team members, and Lexi's brothers.

Lexi walked over with a stack of plates in hand and placed them on the table in the kitchen, so they could put their slices of pizza onto the plates. Since there were not enough seats for everyone; plates, drinks and pizzas were placed on the table, while everyone stood around it to eat, leaning against the counters which surrounded the table.

"So how's everyone back home?" Lexi asked as she distributed plates to everyone while Ace and Duck placed the pizza boxes on the table. Ace stood next to Lexi, but not as close as he would normally.

"Pretty good." Spencer replied, "Teresa's been bullied a bit at school lately, though."

Lexi frowned, "That always used to happen to us – people just seemed to hate anthros at school. Did any of you guys notice that?" She looked around at the group.

"I was discriminated against at the university, but not much in school." Tech replied, though Lexi didn't look at him when he answered her query.

Mitchell looked up, "We," he looked to his brothers, "never did. Why were you and Sam bullied?"

Lexi shrugged, "We're dorks, and kids are mean – especially girls," she looked down at her plate and then back at the group, "girls are generally mean...and bitchy, seriously you shouldn't hang out with them." She smiled.

Ace half smiled, "See I never had a problem with kids at school – there were never many anthros...but, still I wasn't bullied."

The rest of the males in the room agreed.

Lexi raised an eyebrow, "Lucky you, pretty much every lunchtime at school people would throw food at us – sometimes it was still edible, other times it really wasn't; and it turns out that apples really hurt when they hit you in the eye."

"Go figure." Duck rolled his eyes while everyone else laughed at Lexi's remark.

Lexi glared at him and glanced at the time, it was almost eight O'clock, but she was already starting to feel the effects of sleep deprivation – she had missed out on a lot of sleep the previous night.

Within the next few minutes, everyone finished their food, the dishes were put into the dish washer, and the table cleared; while everyone disbanded to do their own things – including Lexi's brothers, who went to their room to sort out their belongings from their bags.

--

Lexi sighed and flopped back onto the bed, finally feeling a reprieve from the pain in her foot that had ailed her for some time. Ace sat down next to her, and pulled her into his lap before beginning to play with her hair.

Lexi shut her eyes, "God, I'm tired." She rubbed her eyes, "I doubt I'm gonna stay up long enough to see the rest of my family get here."

Ace frowned, "I might be able to stay up, I'll just tell dem dat you got tired and went to bed, dey'll understand – dey'll probably be tired too, dere is a two hour time difference between here and Utah – if dey get in at midnight, dey'll be feeling as though dey were awake at 02:00AM."

Lexi nodded, "Yeah I guess, they haven't seen me in three years, what's another day – I mean, I'd like to see them soon, but I doubt I'll be in the best of moods if I'm really tired."

"Exactly." He smiled, and leaned over to kiss her, but winced when he felt pain in the centre of his back – where he had been blasted into a table earlier in the day.

Lexi sat up and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Ace." She furrowed her eyebrows, "Your back's really bothering you." She bit her lip when he nodded. She looked around until she remembered something. "Stay there."

She carefully got off the bed, not wanting to hurt her foot whilst doing so, and quickly left Ace's room and went into her own, avoiding the fold-out bed in her room which her sisters/Leah would use that night, and went into her bathroom and opened a cupboard.

Moments later she returned with a bottle of a gel-like substance. She sat next to Ace as she unscrewed the cap on the bottle, "This stuff is really good for back pain, it relaxes the muscles."

"How so?" It was obvious Ace's back was causing him some grief.

Lexi frowned at how much pain he seemed to be in, "I'm not sure, but it's some sort of warming stuff, it gets into the muscles and warms them and relaxes them. You have to apply it every few hours, and it works really fast."

"Okay." Ace was using his enhanced vision to read the product's description from the bottle while Lexi was still holding it, "When have you had to use it? After tough missions? You never complained of back pain."

Lexi let out a small smile, "Umm...not so much for tough missions as womanly stuff."

"What?"

Lexi sighed, "Back pain, dude, one of those lovely little side effects that come from that once a month thing – this stuff works wonders, especially when I'm trying to sleep...but it does smell a bit funny, though."

Ace chuckled to himself, "It explains why you never complained to us about back pain."

Lexi smiled, "I prefer to skip the hairy details. Anyway, can you take off your shirt, please, so I can put this on you."

Ace did as instructed and Lexi moved to sit behind him. She put a small amount on one hand before asking him where he felt pain – as it was difficult to see any bruising because of his fur.

"Umm...Just under my shoulder blades, probably like...waist level."

"'Kay." She rubbed the gel into the area described as well as listening to him when he told her where else to put it. Eventually she finished, "You should feel that start to work soon." She smiled at him.

"Yeah, I can now." He pulled a funny face, "It's..kinda weird..."

Lexi let out a small laugh.

"T'anks." He pulled her over to him and kissed her. He then looked down at her foot, "Do you t'ink it'll work on your foot?"

Lexi looked at him for a moment before looking to her injured foot, "Nah, I doubt it – probably not enough muscle if you think about it. Besides, this foot goes weird sometimes anyway, I'm sure it'll be fine in the morning."

Ace furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean 'your foot goes weird sometimes'?"

Lexi shrugged, "I don't know, I've fractured it a couple of times, and every now and then – not too often – it just gives way, if you get me. It....goes dead, I think that's what happened this morning, I think I tripped a little on the wires, but it might have also been my strange foot." She frowned, "It's actually the same one that...that guy grabbed when he was trying to get me back in Utah."

'_She jumped up, grabbing hold of a branch, wincing in pain as her aching shoulder felt her weight on it, swung back, and kicked him, the force giving her enough momentum to swing forward and run._

_But he grabbed her ankle as he fell_

_She fell onto her stomach, letting out a gasp of air and pain.'_

Ace frowned at her, "Hey, don't get upset..." He made a movement to hug her, but she moved away.

"Ace, I'm fine, I'm not upset." She smiled at him, "Honest."

Ace gave her an unconvinced look, "You're not usually dis okay when talkin' about what happened."

Lexi sighed and slumped her shoulders, "Look...I want to try and get over this, I don't want you and the guys, and everyone back home thinking it still gets to me, that I'm still this vulnerable little girl who can't look after herself anymore."

Ace frowned at her, "Lex, you know we don't t'ink of you like dat."

"You guys might not, but my family and friends do. Alex doesn't trust you as my boyfriend – I would've thought that everyone would understand that I'd be cautious about stuff like this – that's why I trust you so much, Ace, you'd never do that. But my family and friends...they...they just think I can't make good judgements anymore, somehow I doubt they can either." She sighed, "I also told Pete today, when I went to show him where his room was, that I'm getting over it – I mean, I'm not miserable like I used to be, it still gets to me sometimes, but not so much, not nearly as much as it used to. And...I want to make sure I'm true to my word, I want to get over it, so much. I'm not gonna let it get to me anymore."

Ace looked at her and gave a small sigh; somehow he knew that it wasn't possible.

--

09:57PM

Lexi knocked on the door to the room that her brothers were staying in, having taken a pain killer to stop the pain in her foot, and sitting in Ace's room with ice on her foot for over an hour while they watched TV – the ice had almost completely stopped the swelling, but it still hurt slightly despite the pain killer that she took.

"Guys, it's me." She said through the door.

"You're good." She heard one of them say from within their room. She wasn't sure who it was, though, maybe Michael – she had been away from them for so long she started to forget their voice pitches, she could always tell with the Loonatics because of her advanced hearing, but also her musical ear also helped her to distinguish who was who by the depth of their voices. With her brothers it was difficult, being related their voices were similar....that and she hadn't seen them in three years.

"Hey." She smiled as she walked in. She received a number of "hey's'" from her brothers, but noted that Spencer wasn't present, "Where's?"

"_If she comes in, tell her I'm _not_ naked."_ She turned to the bathroom upon hearing the missing person's voice.

Her brothers burst into laughter while Lexi was left with a confused, and somewhat disgusted, look on her face. "Umm...what?" She turned to Pete.

"Showering." He replied with a smile.

"_Riiiiiiiiiiiight_..." She raised an eyebrow before shouting towards the bathroom door, "I could've lived my entire life without that image in my head!"

"_Hey, you shouldn't be thinking of stuff like that, preserve you innocence."_

Lexi chuckled to herself and sat down on the bed that Pete was lying on, reading. She looked across to her other brothers, Michael and Mitchell – the latter was still unpacking his belongings into some of the draws in the room, as well as taking out his toiletries, while Michael was reading some pieces of paper.

Lexi felt somewhat awkward, they were all busy, but she wanted to talk to them – Ace was catching up on some sleep so that he could let Lexi's family into HQ without falling asleep while waiting for them – and Lexi had to wake him at eleven O'clock to ensure he didn't sleep all night long – so she didn't have much to do, considering Slam, Rev and Duck were watching sports, and she didn't want to spend time with Tech.

She looked around the room and drummed her fingers on her leg, before Pete sat up next to her. "Sorry, I only had a few pages left of this chapter, I wanted to finish it – I started reading on the plane over, got stuck into the book."

Lexi smiled, "It's okay."

As Pete moved over to sit next to her, as she was currently only sitting by his feet, a chain around his neck came loose from underneath his T-shirt. The chain was fairly long, perhaps reaching down to the breast-bone area, and at the bottom held two small tags – his 'dog tags' chains containing information that all military personnel had to wear.

Lexi looked at the chain, "Do you have to wear that all the time?"

Pete looked down at his dog-tags, and then back to his sister, "Umm...probably not when I'm off duty, but I'd rather keep them on than loose them – you know what I'm like." He smiled.

Lexi smiled back, "So..." she looked around the room and then to the floor beneath her feet. There was a long pause. "I really missed you." She hugged him, and he put an arm around her with a smile, "I missed you, too."

Lexi looked back up at Michael and Mitchell, "I missed you too by the way." She then turned towards the bathroom door, "and you Spence!" She shouted.

"Have you seen Alex at all?" Mitchell finally spoke as he looked over at his brother and sister.

"Yeah, I saw him the other day – he says he's working one day while you're all here, but other than that he's free. I could show you guys where he lives, or I could ask him if he wants to come over here sometime." She looked between Pete and Mitchell.

"Yeah, cool." Mitchell spoke as he finally finished his unpacking and placed his suitcase underneath his bed.

"Mikey, what the hell are you doin'?" Mitchell said as he lay back against the pillows on the bed.

"Readin'"

Pete and Mitchell exchanged glances, "About what?" Mitchell continued - Michael normally wasn't so closed off.

"Training – Did you know they drop stuff out of cargo planes while they're still in the air?" He looked up at his siblings.

"Yeah..." Lexi nodded, "I think we've done it before." She looked up to think, "that or I'm thinking about something else."

"You do army-ish stuff?" Pete raised an eyebrow.

"No...not really." Lexi looked up at him, "we've helped them out once, though – they had a problem concerning some super-powered kid at the military weapons lab."

"But...don't they have...weapons there?" Mitchell looked amused.

"Yeah," Lexi laughed, "But this guy could manipulate time, so they couldn't catch him – neither could we until we got some back up from some scientist dude.

Spencer finally emerged from the bathroom, wearing what Lexi assumed to be his pyjamas for the night, shorts and a vest top.

"Finally." Michael said, getting up, "I can change and sleep!"

Lexi looked confused, "Why couldn't you've done that here?"Michael raised an eyebrow and gave her a confused look, "...Cause you're in here. You know, we're fine with the whole....changing in front of each other thing, we have to do it sometimes at the air base – plus....it's all the same stuff down there – but you don't need to see that..."

Lexi shut her eyes, "Yeah, okay, Mike, I get it – I don't need the mental image." She stood up, "Anyway, I'll let you guys sleep, I know you must have gotten up early – I'll see you in the morning."

"Wait," Spencer stopped her, "What about mum and dad, and the others?"

"Ace is staying up – the other guys probably will too, I had a bad night sleep last night so I'm too tired to wait up for them."

"What kept you up?" Pete voiced his concerns about his sister's welfare – he didn't know the Loonatics well enough to trust them yet, and wanted to be sure that Lexi was being honest when she said they don't mistreat her.

Lexi paused for a moment, not wanting to say that stress kept her up as it would be insulting, "I...had a...nightmare." She didn't want to lie to them too much, but she was tired and didn't want them interrogating her all night about why she was stressed – she thought that lying at this point was okay.

"What about?"

"Pete..." Lexi was about to complain at him from stopping her from sleeping, and waking Ace, she sighed, "...I don't really remember- all I know is that it scared me and kept me up for a bit – that's it."

"Okay, well...sleep well then, Lex." He smiled at her.

She nodded, "Night, guys." She left the room.

--

"Ace....Ace...wake up."

Lexi gently spoke to the male rabbit, who was sleeping above the covers of their bed, she sat beside him, looking down at him, while rubbing is shoulder, "Ace?"

The moment that she saw his crystal blue eyes open, she smiled at him. "It's a little bit past eleven, sorry about that – I went to see my brothers and they barely let me leave!"

Ace sat up and rubbed his eyes and forehead for a moment, before looking at her, "It's okay. Boy, it's at times like dis dat I can see why you hate nappin'."

Lexi half-smiled at him, "Sorry."

"Its fine, Lex." He smiled at her and kissed her, "Hey, can you put a bit more of dat stuff on my back, it really helped."

"Sure." Lexi smiled, but checked the label of the bottle quickly to ensure that it was okay to use within a two hour time period.

As she rubbed it into his back, they made small conversation, they were both tired and so their fatigue affected their moods – and they weren't in a particularly active mood, which included talking and thinking.

"So what did you and your brothers talk about?"

Lexi shrugged as she squeezed some more of the gel onto her hand, "Random stuff not anything particularly interesting – just small talk....and I've never been good at remembering small talk."

Ace smiled, "It's fine. So are dey stayin' up?"

"Umm..." Lexi looked up to think, "I think they're going to sleep – they had to get up early."

"Okay." Ace looked at the digital clock, "So are you gonna hit da hay?" He turned around to look at her after realising that she was done.

"Err...yeah if that's okay...is it okay?"

Ace smiled, "It's fine – I'll try not to wake you when I come back in here."

Lexi smiled, "Who cares if you do."

Ace kissed her and gave her a hug, "Well, I'll go into da main room, I'll just watch some TV until dey get here."

"Okay," Lexi smiled, "And thanks – you don't have to be all formal, just tell them I'm asleep...perhaps tell them who you are, and show them where they'll be sleeping – Oh, and tell them that I'll try and be up early tomorrow."

"Alright." Ace smiled. He kissed her again and turned on the bedside light, and took out her pyjamas from one of the draws, and then turned off the main light, and handed her the pyjamas, "Have a good night sleep, dis time." He smiled and kissed her again.

"You, too." She kissed him back and watched as he left the room. She then changed into her pyjamas and brushed her teeth. She settled herself into her side of the bed and slept.


	36. Meet The Parents

**I apologise so much for the 4 month delay! I feel terrible!**

**But, I had hwk, summer break, a family holiday (vacation), a broken laptop, friends, and summer to deal with - so it should only be understandable that I had my reasons for not updating - but I also had others:**

**This chapter was surprisingly hard to write as I lacked inspiration - admittedly I was alos a bit lazy with it. I hade written out two drafts before I was happy with _this _chapter- so it took a while - but it's finally here!**

**There are some aspects of Shakespeare in this (written in old English) so if any of you struggle to understand it, don't be shy to ask - I'll be happy to translate.**

**Once again, sorry for the delay - but I hope you enjoy Chapter 36 = 'Meet The Parents'***

**_*(Not affiliated with 'Meet The Parents' the film!)_**

**Oh, and I think there may be one swear word in this - so be warned.**

**~PG~**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

"'_...__ O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,  
That monthly changes in her circled orb,  
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.'"_

"'_What shall I swear by?'"_

"'_Do not swear at all;  
Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self,  
Which is the god of my idolatry,  
And I'll believe thee.'"_

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the window.

Voices, lingering in the adjacent rooms, reminded her of their presence.

'"_I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu!  
Anon, good nurse! Sweet Montague, be true.  
Stay but a little, I will come again.'"_

The clock ticked – yet no clock face was present.

It teased her – here were demands.

"'_Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed.  
If that thy bent of love be honourable,  
Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow,  
By one that I'll procure to come to thee,  
Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite;  
And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay  
And follow thee my lord throughout the world...'"_

Green eyes opened and glistened in the light that shone into the room.

Eyebrows furrowed...a head turned.

A sigh.

Lexi stared up at the blank ceiling above her and cursed to herself that she would set an alarm for so early in the morning.

She rolled to her right and scooted closer to Ace, whose back faced her, and cuddled him. She leaned up over his shoulder and kissed his jaw – not being able to reach his lips.

His gentle grip seized her hand, and he turned his head and smiled at her, before kissing her mouth which still hung over his. "Mornin' beautiful"

Lexi giggled at his charm – it always worked on her. She lay back down while he rested on his side next to her. "So what time did you get to bed last night?" She enquired whilst stroking the fur on his stomach.

Ace looked up to think and puffed his cheeks out with breath as he tried to remember. He made eye contact with her again as she rolled over onto her side to face him, "Must've been about...2am?"

Lexi furrowed her eyebrows and looked at his chest, still running her fingers through his fur, "Oh, Ace – you should go back to bed, you can't just have three and a half hours of sleep!"

Ace chuckled at her, "Lexi, its fine. I'll take a nap later if I need to – but I want to be able to meet da rest of your family first – ya know, make a good impression. And why do ya love doin' dat so much?"

"What?" She gave him a confused look.

"Ya love feelin' my fur – have ya not realised ya have your own yet?" He smiled.

Lexi looked guilty, "What? Yours is really soft, plus it's weird that your chest is completely flat."

"What do ya mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, dude – mine hasn't been flat for about ten years – the topography's changed a bit, and I sometimes miss that. But it's more to do with the fact that your fur is really soft." She grinned at him.

"Yours is too." He smiled and rested his hand on her currently flat stomach beneath her shirt. He moved his hand around a few times, earning a slight giggle from Lexi. He sighed and rested his hand, now, on the space just below her stomach, "I wonder what dat baby's doin' in dere?"

Lexi smiled softly at him and looked down at herself, "Not much."

Ace smiled, "I can't wait until we can really see it."

Lexi gave him a sly look, "You mean when I'm fat and yucky and puking everywhere and...complaining of cramps and swollen feet?"

Ace smiled broadly and kissed her, "Lexi, not'in' like dat bothers me, really! I know ya might feel differently...but ya know I'm gonna help ya through all of dat."

Lexi smiled up at him as she lay back down, "I know, I'm just pushing your buttons."

/

"You know, Ace – for the first time since this whole thing started...I'm actually happy about being" she whispered the last word, "pregnant." She said jovially as she dressed, having just taken a shower.

"Really?" Ace was surprised, but happy. He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, whilst leaning on the counter-top by the sink. He faced her quizzically and earned a sly look from the female bunny whose face lit up once again.

"Yeah!" Lexi smiled, "I really, really want to have a baby with you. I love you."

"I love ya too, Lex." Ace smiled and kissed her while they dressed.

Lexi smiled to herself and sat down on the toilet seat (which was down to use as a seat), "Its funny...I had a...odd..._interesting_ dream last night. I was annoyed when I woke up." She let out a small giggle as she remembered the dream.

"Oh yeah, and what happened?" He picked up their towels and stuck them in the laundry hamper. He turned back to her and felt the humid heat of the bathroom – the room was dull as the light wasn't on – the sunlight passing through the gaps in the white translucent Roman blind made the room light enough to see, but still a little bit gloomy. He felt sweat on his forehead and it annoyed him – the drops were miniscule – it was odd, he preferred _large drops_ of sweat if he had to choose – at least they actually _did something _to cool him down – all that the small droplets accumulating on his forehead did was annoy him. He wiped his brow with his wrist and stood up again, taking Lexi's hand. "Let's talk in da bedroom – it's less humid in dere."

"Okay." Lexi smiled. She stood up and followed him out of the bathroom, flicking the switch of the ceiling fan as she passed over the threshold – at least then it would be cooler later, and the condensation on the glass shower walls would disappear.

The two began to quickly sort out their morning routines as they talked. Ace opened the curtains and blinds whilst Lexi made the bed, Ace took away their empty glasses of water and put them in the bathroom while Lexi brushed her half-dry hair and turned off the desk-fan on the shelf by the mirror. "Ughh, I _need _to get my fringe cut." Lexi sighed as she blew out her bangs with her sigh. She combed her fringe this time, but it didn't seem to do much as she still looked annoyed with the fact that some strands of hair were growing faster than others, and so now her fringe (which was normally perfectly feathered), was starting to look somewhat tatty.

She opened the dark mahogany draw under the desk and took out her green ribbon and put it on the bench top, she then put the brush and comb back into the draw, and picked up the ribbon, only to have it plucked from her hands by Ace, whose reflection had appeared behind her. He gave her his 'signature' smile which Lexi loved, as he began to tie her ears for her, she returned the smile with her own.

Once he was done (and after Ace had stressed on whether he had accidentally tied it too tight or not), Lexi turned around to face him as she leaned against the desk behind her. Ace took her hands in his and gave her a kiss. "So, you were sayin' – your dream last night?"

Lexi looked surprised – and it was clear that she must have forgotten what they had been talking about while they were in the bathroom. She gave him another guilty grin, "Umm...yeah...it's weird...so don't laugh."

"I'm listenin'." Ace smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Umm..." She drummed her fingers on his shoulders for a moment, focussing on the yellow upside-down triangle on his chest. "It's really...reeeeeeeeeeeally cheesy..."

Ace let out a small laugh, "Seriously, out wid it, Lex."

Lexi took a deep breath, "For some reason I was thinking about _'Romeo and Juliet'_ last night...and...You know Act II, Scene II of the play?"

Ace looked blankly back at her, "...Well go on."

Lexi smiled, "I kinda had a dream about that...but it was with you and me...not...them." She trailed her eyes away and her cheeks turned a rosy pink as she let out a small grin towards the floor.

Ace smiled and let out a small chuckle.

Lexi's head whipped back up and faced his, "What? Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh!"

Ace's smile turned into a sly grin, "I'm not laughin' at ya, technically I'm not even laughin' – it's called _chucklin'_, deary. And anyway, I was _chucklin'_ at da fact dat it was cute and sweet, not weird or funny." His expression turned normal again as he stopped laughing.

Lexi now looked as though _she_ was trying not to laugh as she looked up at him, her face contorted with an effort not to laugh at him.

Ace raised an eyebrow and picked her up, setting her down on top of the desk which had been behind her, and pinned her shoulders against the wall. "So, what's so funny wid _you_ all of a sudden?"

Lexi let out a small giggle, "You called me '_deary'_, what decade do you think we're in, the nineteen-_fifties_?" She giggled again.

Ace gave her a coy smile, "And what's wrong wid a little old fashioned charm, den?" As he said it, he pulled her towards him, picked her up, and kissed her, holding the kiss for a few seconds.

Lexi looked surprised at his actions, but happy, "Nothing." She smiled. "Anyway," She said, trying to get down...but to no avail. She looked back up at him and raised an eyebrow, "You wanna let go of me or can I use this as an excuse to not leave the room all day?"

Ace smiled and set her down gently. She walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window across the room and looked out over the city. They never had to worry about anyone really seeing them in their rooms in the tower – the tower was the tallest building in the vicinity, possibly even in the entire city, and so even if they never shut the curtains no-one would see them. But Ace liked to have them shut as a form of privacy, plus it worked as extra insulation in the winter as the curtains kept the warmth from escaping or entering through the windows.

"Might as well open the windows – let some fresh air in here, that and for once it might not be so hot when we go to bed!" She unlatched some of the catches on the window, Ace had to help her when some of the catches were too stiff or her to open. She turned back to Ace and smiled.

"So..." Ace started as he walked towards her, "you know Shakespeare?"

"Yeah – I know loads of his plays."

Ace looked surprised, and leant against the windows with his arms crossed, "Which ones?"

"Umm..." Lexi looked up to think, "I can do '_Othello'_ in German, '_The_ _Merchant_ _of_ _Venice'_ and '_Hamlet'_ in Spanish, '_A_ _Midsummer_ _Night's_ _Dream'_ in French...and a bunch of others in English."

Ace looked impressed, "How...I mean, why?"

Lexi shrugged, "I never really knew what I wanted to do when I left High School, so I figured if I took a course on Shakespeare then it would look good when applying for college and jobs, you know?"

"It makes sense." Ace nodded, "But why Shakespeare? I remember doin' '_Macbeth'_ in school, and I could never understand all of da: _thee's_, and _thou's_, and _thy's_!"

"Lexi smiled, ya get used to it."

Ace smiled, but then it turned only into a half-smile, "So...as much as I'd hate to bring dis up, Lex..." Ace started, wrapping his arms around the smaller bunny's narrow frame, "Shall we go out to da kitchen and wait for everyone to get up?"

Lexi sighed and looked down, but when she looked up at Ace again, she was smiling, "Yeah, sure."

"Why da sudden change of heart?" Ace raised an eyebrow – he was surprised at her sudden happiness regarding the meeting which she had stressed about for over a week.

Lexi shrugged, "I guess I'm excited now – still scared shitless, but excited." She smiled. "Let's go!"

Ace smiled, "Dat's da spirit – I keep tellin' you to be happy!" He kissed her, took her hand, and the couple began to walk to the door.

/

As they left their room, and turned right up the corridor towards the main room and kitchen, Lexi heard voices and movement on her left, coming from the room which used to be hers. She thought that they should continue to the kitchen and wait for her sisters and Leah to get up, but just as quickly as Lexi had considered that thought, the door opened.

Lexi and Ace stopped and unlinked their hands.

At the same time, both Pete and Michael emerged from their room up the corridor and walked down the hall, "Morning, Lex...Ace." Pete smiled. He spoke quietly, not wanting to wake anyone else up, but he spoke loud enough that they could hear.

Lexi smiled over at her Brothers, but immediately turned back to the door, "Leah!" She exclaimed happily when she saw who emerged from the doorway.

"Sshhhh!"

Lexi turned back to the rest of the guys, who reminded her to be quiet.

"Leah!" She whispered loudly.

Leah was human, just like her brother, and shared many of the same attributes as him. She was paler than he was, but she had the same blonde hair as him – slightly fairer than Lexi's golden locks – but still noticeably blonde. She was skinny, and had the same physique as Lexi, and was slightly taller than the female bunny's head, but only by a few centimetres. Her hair was just shorter than shoulder length, and had many layers in it which made it look spiky. Black mascara lined her eyes which made her face look less washed out than it would have been had it not been there, and some natural peach lip stick coloured her lips and brought more colour into her face.

She wore light denim jeans and a black and white striped t-shirt, with black cowboy boots showing underneath her jeans. "Lex!" She smiled, but backed away when Lexi tired to hug her. "Sorry – Sam called dibs on who gets to hug you first."

Lexi gave her an unimpressed look, "So?"

Leah looked apologetic, "Dude, she said she'd kill me if I hugged you first – and I believe her!"

Lexi shook her head and smiled, "I've missed you."

/

Pete, Michael, Ace, Lexi and Leah – eventually followed by Rev and Spencer – sat around the table in the kitchen, making small talk and collecting their breakfast.

"It is so disgusting it's awesome!" Leah exclaimed happily. She and Lexi were talking across the table, leaning through excitement to catch up on the three years they had spent away from each other. Lexi and Leah each swapped stories about their time in Acmetropolis and Utah, respectively. Currently, Leah was talking about her new position as a surgeon.

Lexi gave her an awkward look, "You seriously like it..." She glanced down at the table with a slightly disgusted look on her face, before looking back at Leah, "How?"

Leah let out a small laugh, "Because _I_ get to do things that should _not_ be legal!"

All of the heads of the guys in the room perked up at that comment, even Duck's as he entered the room, Slam about a metre behind him – though the devil didn't look up, he went straight to the fridge. The rest of the males let out a simultaneous, "What?"

"Not in that way, perverts." Leah said in a dead-panned voice that lacked any emotion. She leaned in closer to Lexi, "I don't even get how they found that dirty?" She whispered.

Lexi shrugged, "They're guys – it's what they do."

Lexi heard an "A-hem." come from her left, and turned to Ace, who sat beside her – he was the only one other than the two girls, who was seated at the table, the rest either had not sat down yet, were standing up to allow other people room to sit down if they wanted to, or were getting their breakfast out of cupboards/microwaves/toasters or blenders on the bench tops around the kitchen.

Lexi smiled sweetly at Ace, "And I love you-oh, I didn't mean to say that." She shut her eyes in annoyance. It was normally the innocent, jovial comment she gave him – this time, out of habit she said it – but didn't yet want her family to know she was with Ace, now she had blown it.

Ace didn't deny the comment, it would only make it sound worse, however, he did look at her with wide eyes and a look that said, 'You've done it, now – go with it.'

Lexi took a deep breath, deciding that if her family wanted to press the matter further, they'd mention it – she wouldn't have to explain herself. Plus, that meant she and Ace didn't necessarily have to hide it...except maybe from her dad. She had accidentally said it loud enough that the whole room would have heard it, there was no question about that.

Lexi turned back to Leah and tried to look normal, hoping they could resume their previous conversation.

Leah looked between her and Ace, "So...are you two together then?"

Lexi and Ace exchanged glances, and tentatively, and at the same, replied, "Yeah..."

"...Kinda..."

Duck scoffed, "More than together, if you know what I mean..." He intended to say it under his breath, but it was still loud enough.

Rev elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a look.

"What?" Duck shrugged, looking at the rest of the Loonatics who were glaring at him, and the sceptical and somewhat suspicious looks from Lexi's brothers.

Leah, however, was happy. "Cool!" She smiled. The bunnies' heads whipped back around to Leah. She noticed the surprised looks the couple were giving her, "No, it's good – it's about time, Lex. I mean you've always been afraid of dating, and I think..."

"...Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...wait." Lexi stopped her, holding a finger in font of Leah's face, she widened her eyes, giving Leah a look, "Have you forgotten how I told you _NOT_ to mention that?" She said it under her breath, the Leah still heard.

"Right...sorry."

Ace gave Lexi a confused look, but decided not to question it now. He'd wait until later.

/

'_Is this a dagger which I see before me,  
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.  
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.'  
_

Lexi took a deep breath and knocked on the door to her parents' room. She only had to wait for a few moments until she heard a 'come in' from the other side of the door.

'_Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible  
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but  
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,  
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?'_

She pressed the centre button on the door and the two pneumatic doors in front of her retracted back into the door frame. She stepped inside and was greeted by the sight of her parents. Her father just turning off the television, it looked like if had been a weather report, and her mother standing in front of the mirror next to the TV putting on a necklace.

'_I see thee yet, in form as palpable  
As this which now I draw.'_

Lexi was happy, but, once again, due to her over-observant nature, she was struck with a conundrum. She didn't know who to go to first to hug.

...She was also put off by the ominous voices in her head that mentioned lines from '_Macbeth_'...

...She shook off those thoughts.

Due to the predicament she was in now, and from natural instinct, she would want to hug her mother first, but technically her mother was farther away – and it would be rude and hurtful to her father to walk past him to hug her mother, despite her not seeing either of them for the same amount of time.

However, luckily, as she stood just half a metre away from the doorway, her mother half walked, half ran over to Lexi to hug her, Lexi's father smiling at the two as he walked over.

"Oh, Lexi!" She smiled as she hugged her daughter, "I've missed you so much, sweetheart." She briefly released Lexi from her tight hug; Lexi breathed a small sigh of relief, only to be engulfed in the strong arms of her father.

"It's nice to see you again, honey."

Lexi stepped back and looked up at her parents. Her father was quite tall, far taller than Ace and possibly the same height as Lexi's brothers. He was quite muscular, despite being forty-nine years old, and still looked youthful and young for his age, he was slender – not skinny – but a healthy size for his age. His voice was quite deep and he had an air of authority about him, which would come in useful – his occupation was a cop. He wore smart grey trousers with black brogues, a white short-sleeved shirt with narrow beige vertical lines on it and the two top buttons undone at the top, and had a jacket, which matched the trousers, slung over his arm.

Lexi's mother, who had a sweet, warm scent; was wearing a turquoise blue cardigan over a purple high-necked vest (tank top?), and an ankle length purple and turquoise, flower patterned skirt; small heeled purple heels were on her feet.

Unlike Lexi's father, her mother did not stand much taller than Lexi herself, she would have been shorter than Ace, but still slightly taller than Lexi. Lexi's mother looked her over and smiled, "Well you look lovely, dear." She referred to her uniform, "it makes you look so tall and slender – of course, not that you aren't already." She smiled a warm, comforting smile at her daughter.

Lexi gave a small smile back to her parents.

"Personally I think it's a little tight on you."

Lexi gave her father a shocked and somewhat embarrassed look, "Dad?"

"I'm just saying that you live with a group of men and that it's a little..."

Lexi's mother cut him off, "Oh shush, Robert." She gave her daughter another smile before turning back to her husband, "You know she's not one of _those_ types of girls. Luckily none of them are."

Lexi looked back up at her parents, "Guys, seriously, its fine, okay." She gave them a smile, "Do...do you wanna meet my friends? And grab some breakfast?"

"Oh, Lexi! – we didn't realise anyone else was up!"

"Mum...it's...8:30AM? Everyone except Sam and Teresa are up." She smiled, "We've all had breakfast...I didn't realise you guys had been awake...I thought you were sleeping in – that's why I didn't come to see you until now, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, sweety." Lexi's dad smiled, he put his arm around Lexi's shoulder, "And you know we're always up early – its how we are."

"Oh, Let me just grab my purse." Lexi's mother said as the trio began to leave, she turned around and picked up her black leather bag off of the arm chair in the room, and then turned back.

"Lexi, honey, the two of us – and Teresa, if she would like – were thinking of spending the day looking around, and seeing the sights, and we were wondering whether you'd like to come with us?"

"Umm..." Lexi bit her lip.

"No, honey," Her father smiled, "We understand if you want to spend time with Sam and Leah, it's absolutely fine."

"Thanks," Lexi half smiled, she felt guilty – she missed her parents and knew that they missed her, she couldn't just ditch them on their first day there, "But...I was thinking, we could all go out for dinner tonight – you know, us, the guys and Alex – he wants to catch up with everyone, and I know what day he's working on, so he should be free tonight." She gave a small shrug.

"That would be lovely!" Lexi's mother smiled, "As long as your team mates are happy with it – they won't be doing anything tonight will they?"

"Umm...no, they shouldn't be – I'm sure they'd be happy to go out for dinner." She smiled, "It'll be cool, there's a really nice seafood restaurant by the bay, it does great shrimp – and you won't have to worry about nut products for Teresa, I've checked before out of habit, it should be fine."

"Okay, then." Lexi's dad said, "We'll go there, then. But if you don't mind, I think I really should be getting some breakfast soon."

/

Lexi's brothers had left to see Alex (having received directions to his apartment from Ace), but Leah, despite being his sister, said she'd visit him later with Sam and Lexi, as she wanted to see a bit more of Lexi to talk to her. Leah remained in the kitchen with the rest of the Loonatics (Minus Ace, who had gone back to his room), figuring she'd get to know them, and wait for Sam and Teresa to get up.

"So, Leah," Tech said as he sat down at the table with a glass of orange juice and some toast, "Lex said you're a doctor?"

Leah finished taking a sip of her coffee, "Yeah, surgeon now too."

"Interesting," Tech smiled, "But...if you don't mind me saying, aren't you a bit young...to have gone through medical school and all?" He didn't eat, and instead leant on his elbows and laced his fingers together as he listened to Lexi's friend, intrigued by her occupation.

Leah smiled, "Yeah, I would be considered young if we were in like...the twenty-first century! People know more about medicine now – it doesn't take as long to go through now."

"Well I was aware that, but...I thought that at nineteen you'd _still_ be in medical school?"

Leah let out a laugh, "Dude, I'm not nineteen, I'm twenty-two."

"Oh!" Tech look surprised, while Duck suddenly look interested, "I'm sorry!"

Leah smiled, "Dude, its fine."

"Hmm, an older woman – go for it Tech, you nerds actually have something in common!" Duck said under his breath behind the coyote, who let out a small growl at the remark. Leah didn't look pleased either.

"Ahh, Duck – Lexi's told me a lot about you." Leah gave him a sly look.

"Did she give you her super hearing too?" Duck spat, it was rhetoric, but he was still surprised by her ability to hear him despite how quiet he thought he was being.

/

A blonde head poked out of the doorway of Lexi's former room. She looked around, hoping to find someone she knew, but with no luck – she was hoping to see Lexi or her parents, looking carefully into the main room and kitchen (obscured from view of everyone within) she did notice Leah, who she would've gone to see...if she hadn't been surrounded by the Loonatics...men she didn't know...and didn't necessarily trust, despite them working with her sister for almost three years.

She sighed, and was about to turn back into her room and wait for Sam to finish getting ready, when the door on the opposite side of the hallway opened and revealed a yellow and black clad male bunny. She jumped when she saw him, and was about to turn back into her room when he spoke to her.

"Oh, hey." He smiled, "You must be Teresa – I didn't get to see ya much last night, you were asleep."

Teresa had fallen asleep in the taxi on the way to the Loonatics' HQ, and so her dad had carried her up and into her room, not wanting to wake her up when it was so late for her.

The smaller bunny blushed and nodded, "Umm...hello."

Her voice was quiet and trembling, and Ace had to strain his ears to even hear her. She was a small girl, and surprisingly small for her age – she was thirteen and her head probably only reached up to Ace's stomach, and probably Lexi's chest. She looked around, as if trying to find a way not to talk to him. She wore a simply purple, cotton dress, with straps about an inch thick on her shoulders, and a dress length which reached down to just about her knee. Underneath her dress, she wore a pair of white leggings which reached to her mid calf, and wore a pair of purple sandals.

Ace was surprised at how small and innocent she looked – normally girls her age were...coming out of their shells and maturing, at least the ones he had known in school were at her age. This child, however, looked very much the opposite of those girls, she looked nervous, and instead of looking thirteen years old, she looked like she was about ten.

But what struck Ace most, was how much she looked like Lexi. Her blonde hair was above her eyes, unlike Lexi's which covered her right eye; the hair was slightly feathered to the left, but not much. Her eyes were the same dazzling green, and her peach-tan fur the same shade as Lexi and her family's. But, unlike her sister, her ears were flat against her back, partially because she was scared.

Ace was certain, that had he seen a picture of Lexi when she was that age, she would have been the splitting image of Teresa. It was odd, especially since Lexi's twin was Sam, not Teresa. Then Ace wondered what Sam must look like.

And then it became awkward. If Sam looked just like Lexi...how would he tell who was who?

Ace shook off the thought and smiled at the young girl, he bent down a little on his haunches so he didn't look so intimidating to her...it didn't exactly work, as she backed up a few steps away from his as he moved. "Teresa, its fine – I won't hurt ya – I'm friends wid Lexi, you're fine here." He gave her a friendly smile, "I'm Ace." He held out his hand for her to shake.

She looked at his hand – at her age she had never really shaken someone's hand before. She looked at him, and then at his outreached hand, then at him, and then at his hand. Not breaking visual with him, she tentatively stretched out her hand, and placed her hand in his. He gently shook her hand, which was somewhat difficult – he hadn't expected it to be a firm handshake, but he had expected she'd have at least _some _grip on his hand. He let go, and gave her a small smile.

"Do you know where my parents are?" She looked at him, not returning his smile, but instead her expression was worry.

"Umm..." Ace stood up, and gave a quick glance around the corner, "...dey're not in dere. Dey must be in deir room; dey haven't left da tower if dat's what you're worried about." He started to walk down the corridor, "Follow me, I'll show you where dey are." He walked slower than his normal pace, not wanting her to be daunted by him, he also wanted to make sure she didn't turn and walk away if, for some reason, she didn't trust him.

Ace reached the door to Lexi's parents' room, just as her father opened the door, with his arm around Lexi, who smiled somewhat weakly, and his wife on the other side of Lexi. Ace gave his girlfriend a momentary look of '_what's_ _wrong?_' before looking up at her father, and stopping dead in his tracks. He cleared his throat quickly, slight fear within him, "Uh...Good mornin', sir." He smiled.

Lexi's dad gave him a slight look, before remembering, "Ahh, sorry, yes, you showed us to our rooms last night, thank you." He unhooked his arm from around Lexi's shoulders and shook Ace's hand. "It's nice to properly meet you with a hand shake; unfortunately my hands weren't free last night." He smiled down at Teresa, who walked towards her mother, while Lexi stepped out into the hall and stood perhaps a foot to the left of Ace. "I'm Robert," he turned swiftly to his wife before looking back at Ace, "and this is my wife, Angela."

"Hello." She smiled, and reached out her hand to shake.

Ace looked momentarily confused as he looked as Lexi's mother, he had pulled back his hand when he was finished shaking Robert's hand, but quickly pulled it back again to shake Angela's, "I'm sorry," He said, Lexi's mother had looked somewhat confused that he didn't originally want to shake her hand, "I've never known whether it was correct or not to shake da hand of a lady," Lexi smirked, "but, unfortunately I thought we were past da era where it wasn't odd to bow, excuse me, ma'am." He smiled at her.

Angela smiled back, "Well aren't you lovely." And let out a tiny giggle as she looked to her husband with a smile, and then back to Ace, "And what's your name, sorry?"

"Oh!" Ace blushed, "Sorry, I'm Ace, Ace Bunny."

Lexi's mother nodded and raised her eyebrows, and gave a small wink and a smile to Lexi, who widened her eyes slightly. It was noticed by her father.

"Umm, yeah, I noticed Teresa come out of her room, she couldn't find anyone." He smiled, "So I showed her to here."

"Well, thank you, Ace." Angela smiled and rubbed Teresa's back, Teresa, who, simply stood there, looking up at Ace. "I'm sorry about her; she seems to have lost her tongue lately."

Ace put his hands in his pockets and stood casually, seemingly he had lost his nerve, and Lexi was impressed – it seemed she was more nervous that he was, "Well it's a...big time for someone her age, you know, puberty and all." Lexi's mother nodded knowingly.

Lexi's eyes widened as her father's eyebrow's raised at Ace's comment, '_No, Ace!' _She bit her lip; she knew how he dad took some comments.

"Yes, they were all like that, Lexi especially." Angela gestured toward her elder daughter.

Ace looked across to her and smiled, "Thanks...mum." Lexi sighed, embarrassed – her cheeks grew slightly red.

Ace let out a small chuckle, "Were da two of ya headed to breakfast?" Ace pointed towards the kitchen with his thumb as they started to walk.

"Yes." Angela said, "I was wondering if you happened to have anything nut free? This one can't have anything with nuts in." She walked with a hand on Teresa's shoulder.

"Oh, dat's no problem," Ace smiled, he now walked alongside Lexi's mother and younger sister, while Lexi and her father walked behind them, about two metres to the rear, "We shopped for food without nut products in, and I can assure you, Tech and Slam were very thorough – she'll have plenty she can eat here. And I made sure dat Rev...Uh, he likes seeds and nuts, I made sure dat he knows to make sure dat all lids are shut and not'in' drops onto bench tops or da table, and he said he'll wash his hands after he eats dem, just to be safe in case he spreads any oils anywhere."

"Oh, that was more than enough that you could do, thank you very much, Ace." Angela smiled. She looked down at Teresa, "There you go you'll be fine." She smiled, and then turned back to Ace, "She was awfully worried that she'd only be eating bread and salads while she was here."

Ace gave the girl a gentle smile, "Nah, you don't have to worry about dat."

"Thank you." She said shyly.

Lexi smiled to herself as she walked, thinking about Ace. _'Maybe this won't be too bad...Mum likes him, even if Dad doesn't she'll convince him. And I never knew he was so great with kids, Teresa's so shy, but she doesn't seem so bad around him, even now...Maybe all that worrying _has_ been for nothing...'_

_/_

"Uh, yeah – Mum, Dad; these are my friends: Tech, Rev, Slam and Duck." Lexi said as she, Ace her parents and Teresa made their way into the kitchen. "...and I'm _pretty_ sure you know Leah."

There was an assortment of 'hello's' from the team. Lexi then showed her family were to get breakfast from – She and the Loonatics, as well as Leah, had already eaten earlier with her brothers.

"Oh, where are the boys?" Angela said as she looked around the kitchen.

"I think they're a little odd to be called 'boys', mum." Lexi smirked, "They went to see Alex."

"Oh." Angela then looked to Leah, "...and you're not going with them – he's your brother?"

Leah waved her hand in a relaxed fashion, "I'll see him later. He does know I came too, right?" She looked over at Lexi, who walked over to the table and then sat down next to Leah. Lexi's seat was the end seat on the table, closest to the door but the only seat facing away from it as she looked to her friends and family.

"Yeah, of course." Lexi smiled, she looked around, and then furrowed her eyebrows, "Where's Sam? Is she still – Ahh!" The female bunny jumped when to her hands sharply pulled her shoulders back slightly. She turned around to spot Sam, her sister, behind her smirking. She looked back to her family who chuckled slightly, "Oh, so you guys were in on it, you couldn't have warned me?" She raised her eyebrow and turned back to Sam, standing up, and giving her a light punch on the arm. "Seriously, I haven't seen you for three years and then you try and give me a heart attack? Real courteous." The two then hugged, smiling as they did so, "Man, I missed you so much!"

Sam moved her hands as if to say, 'Really?' sarcastically, "I missed you too." She looked at Lexi, "...you look different? Oh! I know – your confidence is back!" She smiled, but the smile disappeared as she picked up Lexi's arm and held it, Lexi, not knowing she was going to do that, had her muscles relaxed, which made it lighter and 'floppy' as Sam waved it about. "You're still weak," She looked over Lexi's shoulders to the Loonatics, "Seriously, do you guys feed her?"

"Frequently." Rev replied with a smile. The assembled people in the room seemed to enjoy seeing Lexi and Sam's reunion – for Leah and Lexi's family it was to see the two united again, while for the Loonatics it was seeing Lexi happy – a different type of happy that they hadn't ever seen in her before – they had also never seen her so relaxed and confident and happy with someone – It was how Lexi was with Ace when they were alone, but in a slightly different way.

Sam wasn't exactly what Ace had expected – facially they were the same. But Sam's hair was a red-orange colour, and while her fringe was spiky like Lexi's, it covered her whole forehead and was cut unevenly, so it looked choppy and interestin, it half covered her eyes at some point, and half didn't. She didn't wear the ribbon round her ears like Lexi's mother and younger sister did – Lexi's mother's ribbon was a turquoise green, while Teresa's was purple – to match their outfits. Instead, Sam simply wore a red and orange band around her ears.

The female bunny looked exactly like Lexi physically, they were the same height, and were both skinny. Sam wore a yellow vest top (tank top?) which would have been quite low on the chest, had it not been for some black fabric which was stitched under the initial low neck line of the yellow vest, and made the vest tip not so revealing. She wore a simple black choker around her neck as well. She wore plan black jeans with black cowboy boots underneath, and a few bracelets on her wrist. She looked slightly more confident than the Lexi Ace knew...maybe she used to be like Sam – outgoing and care free...but he wasn't sure – he had only known Lexi after she had lost her confidence in the event three years ago.

Ace smiled at the scene, along with everyone else in the room. Duck leant against a bench top with his arms crossed, "How long is this gonna go on for?"

Leah answered Duck, addressing the whole room, without taking her eyes off the bunny pair, "Give them twenty minutes and they'll have ran out of things to talk about."


	37. Revelations

**Wow...almost a year and I only update now: I'm such a horrible person!**

**I'm sorry, but school work, writer's block and just...life in general have made me take this long to write: so sorry about that.**

**But I'm back with a new chapter, new inspiration, already plans in place for the next chapter: but less time to write it in due to exams...**

**...But oh well - I'll make time!**

* * *

_**This chapter is a little bit...mature: not SUPER mature, just...I don't know, there are small references to certain things, but you'd only get them if you were old enough/read in between the lines. So that's not too bad, I guess.**_

_**Also, this chapter is a little bit angst-y, sorry about that: but it's a little bit essential. The next chapter should be...slightly more uplifting. Not sure: I haven't written it yet! **_

_**Anyway: here's Chapter 37 - 'Revelations'.**_

_**(There is implied nudity in this, and osme sexual themes which is why I put the warning it, but it's only implied: nothing is detailed.)**_

* * *

It was evening and the Loonatics, along with Lexi's family (and Leah) were seated at a large circular table in one of Acmetropolis' finest restaurants. The sun was setting and so the restaurant took on a golden glow as the sun's last rays were focussed directly into the restaurant – the large gathering of friends and family were seated outside, as the temperature meant it was warm enough to do so, and so were seated in an outside area of the restaurant which overlooked the bay, which currently shimmered as the sun's light hit the tiny crests of ripples and mini-waves on the water.

There was a warm, gentle breeze blowing through off of the bay, and out over the Atlantic, a magnificent sculpture of clouds was building into a distant thunderstorm – it glowed in the light, making it look both beautiful and menacing as the sun's light caught differing levels of cloud, illuminating details which would have otherwise been invisible if it was mid-day.

The Loonatics and Bunny family laughed at a joke which one of Lexi's brothers was telling of an experience during training. The topic had turned military after Tech had spotted an air force plane flying a circuit several miles to their north.

"I've never seen why people think planes are the best part of the air force; I think that it's the helicopters that do the ballsiest stuff." Mitchell remarked

"…But aren't you trainin' to be a fighter pilot?" Ace questioned, he looked at the group and then back to Mitchell, picking up his glass as he did so, "I just thought dat if dat was da case, ya'd be more on da side of planes dan choppers?" He took a sip from his drink as he waited for a response from one of Lexi's brothers. He was surprised when his query was answered by Lexi, he turned his head to look at her; she was sitting next to him.

She spoke quietly, as if in doing so it might make it less obvious that Ace didn't know of the regime. "The air force is trying this experimental thing: all trainee pilots need to get their qualification in fighter jets before they can move onto other types of aircraft. Michael is transferring onto Cargo planes once fighter training finishes, and Mitchell's gonna be flying helicopters when training's over." She smiled at him and they turned back to the group.

Ace nodded, he still had another query in response to that one though, but Rev voiced it instead.

"But-why-make-you-train-for-aircraft-you-don't-even-intend-to-fly? Surely-it's-a-waste-of-your-time, their-time, and-the-money-of-the-defence-network, and-then-of-course-there's-the-tax-payers…"

Lexi's family and Leah seemed confused by the question: having not been able to pick up many words as too many seemed to stream out of the bird's mouth at once.

Tech translated for them, "He wants to know why you guys can't go onto your preferred aircraft and learn to fly that first."

Lexi's father answered to this, "Back in the war, they ran out of pilots to do bombings, and more tactical warfare. They were…relatively fine with helicopter pilots as they were there mainly for troop transportation and med-e-vacs. Too many fighters got shot down, so they lost the ability to do a lot. They learnt from that: nowadays, any pilot wanting to earn a licence learns to fly fighters first, so there's if there's a repeat of what happened twenty years ago, there are thousands more who can be called up."

Tech and Rev nodded.

Spencer piped up at this point, "Speaking of warfare," he seemed to have a small change of heart and spoke quieter, "John's been posted."

Lexi furrowed her eyebrows and sat up, alert, "What? When?"

"Last week." Pete responded to her, slightly quieter. He leaned forwards when he took in Lexi's shocked and worried expression, "he'll be fine, Lex."

Lexi, looking obviously worried, simply nodded and took a sip from her glass of water. Soon the waiter arrived to take their food orders.

* * *

Lexi and Ace, who had opted to run some errands earlier that day and had met the rest of the team and Lexi's family at the restaurant, now walked home, hand in hand; down the darkened streets of Acmetropolis.

"Are you alright, Lex – ya seem quiet?" Ace questioned her with a concerned look. Not many people were on this block: there were no people walking by, and very few cars passed by. Ace stopped them and placed his hands on her shoulders, "is everyt'in' okay?"

Lexi nodded hesitantly, "I'm just worried about John…" she noticed his look of confusion, "…the guy who Pete said has been posted."

Ace gave her a questioning look, "What do ya mean 'posted'?"

Lexi gave a small sigh, "He's in the Military. Army…special forces." She looked down at her feet and then back at him, "This is his second posting as special forces, he's been on tours before when he was in the Marines, but now…he does riskier missions, with fewer people: and they're the first in." She ran a hand through her hair and ears, "I always get worries every time he, and other friends of ours, get sent out. They're all my brother's friends and they grew up together, so I've known them all since I was a kid. I've known John since I was three. So every time he gets sent out, I get really scared something will happen to him: he's like another brother to me. Plus, thinking about him and others going out, it always makes me think of my brothers: in a few months, or a year, it will be them too. I'm scared I'll lose one of them."

Ace gave her a half smile; he didn't know what to say. He pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back: it was all he could think to do.

Lexi mumbled into his shirt, but he still heard her: "And I don't know why the others didn't say anything…they know we're close – I thought they would have let me know the moment it happened."

Ace kissed her, "Maybe dey just didn't want to frighten ya. Or stress ya out."

Lexi leant back and nodded after a moment, "Good point." She hugged him tightly and kissed him, "Thanks." She smiled at him.

"No problem." Ace smiled back at her. "Now come here." He leaned forwards and kissed her, placing his hands on her hips whilst she placed hers on his chest, and Lexi found herself pressed against the side of a building - neither were too concerned that their kissing was occurring in public, besides: only cars were going by and no people were about because it was late at night on a work night.

Suddenly, Ace moved his hands to her stomach and began to tickle her. "Ace, no!" Lexi squealed as she tried to squirm her way away from him, but to no avail. Ace smiled at her reaction as she writhed around in front of him; she laughed loudly and let out a small scream as she tried to remove his fingers from her stomach by holding onto his forearms.

"Hey, hey: what's going on here?"

Ace and Lexi were interrupted when they heard a concerned male voice, the sound of two car doors slamming shut, and two pairs of feet walking hastily towards them. Ace turned around and Lexi looked up over his shoulder and both were surprised to see two members of the Acmetropolis Police Department running towards them – the two men obviously had the wrong idea of what was going on.

Lexi decided to speak, realising that this situation did look a bit shifty, and so they would never listen to Ace 'the '_assailant'_. "It's not what you think!" She put her hands up to try and persuade them, before holding onto one of Ace's hands: hoping they would realise the two were together, not strangers; she was also determined that they wouldn't take Ace away from her.

The two officers raised an eyebrow at the pair and then exchanged glances; looking somewhat wearily at Ace.

"We're together…he was…tickling me. We didn't realise it would look so…"

"…alarmin'…" Ace finished for her, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

Lexi was worried: she had a feeling the two police officers didn't believe her; they wouldn't recognise them as being part of the Loonatics either, it was dark, and they were out of uniform. However, she remembered her ID badge in her bag. "Wait a second." All eyes fell onto the hand bag which rested by her hip. She fumbled around in it for a few moments before pulling out her purse, and then the ID badge which showed her as a member of the Loonatics. Following this, Ace also pulled his ID out from the wallet in his blazer, too: both Bunnies handed the IDs to the officers.

The cops looked at the images on the ID badges, and then at the two bunnies in front of them, satisfied that they were who the ID badges said they were, the cards were handed back to the respective bunny. "That doesn't exactly change things though." The original officer said, still looking at Ace with a somewhat suspicious look. Lexi bit her lip.

"Please," Lexi frowned as she looked up at the two men in front of her, "it's not like that."

The two police officers exchanged glances, and the officer who hadn't spoken yet looked at Lexi, "So you're not hurt: he wasn't doing anything wrong?"

Lexi nodded, "Nothing was wrong."

The two men nodded and the first policeman spoke again, "Alright then. Try and be a little less…_convincing_, next time." He looked at Ace as he said this, he then addressed both bunnies. "Goodnight." Ace nodded in response to both things said by the officer, and Lexi gave a small wave as the two men headed to their car and gave the couple another look before continuing with their patrol; However, the bunny couple noticed how they drove slow as if to confirm that there wasn't anything wrong with what the two superheroes had told them.

Lexi and Ace turned around, back to the direction they were heading, and held hands once more. "Sorry about dat, Lex." Ace pulled a grim face, "I never realised until den: but dat mustn't have looked right."

Lexi nodded, "Yeah. But it's alright – I know you weren't doing anything wrong." She kissed his cheek and had a quick look around to see if the cops were still in the area; they weren't. Lexi let go of Ace's hand and smiled at him when he gave her a questioning look. She subtly slowed her pace, before hitching her dress up slightly above her knees and jumping onto his back.

Ace was strong enough that the action didn't make him fall over, and he was able to comfortably support her, however; he wasn't expecting that, and so let out a small grunt of surprise. "You tryin' to get me arrested?" He smirked and raised an eyebrow at her, turning his head to hers as far as he could, as he hooked his arms under her legs which rested by his hips, ensuring she didn't fall off; whilst her hands rested on his chest.

"_Noooooo_." Lexi giggled, responding in a mock-lying tone. Besides, the piggy-back wouldn't look _so_ suspicious anyway. She kissed the top of his head, between his ears, "Wow. I've never been able to do that before: I could never reach." She smiled at him, and Ace smiled back, though she couldn't see it. Lexi laughed after a moment. "Now, take me home!"

* * *

"Well, I'm beat." Lexi exclaimed with an exhausted sigh as she flopped back onto her and Ace's bed.

Ace smiled and loosened his tie, sitting beside her. "Oh really. You didn't have to carry someone on your back for nine blocks, up an elevator, and through two doors, missy." He spoke in a jocular way, and Lexi gave him a guilty yet mischievous smile back.

He bent down to kiss her, tossing his tie and shirt onto the floor in front of him. "Come on Lex," he leaned over her, looking into her tired eyes, and smiled, "let's get you ready for bed." He gently slipped his hands under her back and unzipped her dress, planting a small kiss on her lips as he did so. He then crouched on the floor in front of her and removed her high-heeled shoes, placing them by the bedside table. He then stood up and looked down at her, her eyes were shut: a sign of her fatigue – but she wasn't asleep. He gave her a small chuckle and smiled.

"I'll be a minute." He bent down and kissed her before turning towards the bathroom, hearing her mutter something in response. Ace entered the bathroom and brushed his teeth before removing his belt and trousers. He then returned to the bed, picked up his shirt and tie, and went back to the bathroom: placing his shirt and trousers in the laundry hamper, and leaving the belt and tie on the bench: he'd put them away in the morning.

He then sat on the bed again, next to Lexi, and gave her a smile – she hadn't moved since he last saw her, and was still tired. "Come on, Lex." He rubbed her upper arm gently.

"I'm too tired!" Lexi smiled and rubbed her eyes before looking up at him, giving him an exhausted, yet happy look.

Ace rolled his eyes at her in a jocular way. He smiled back at her and went over to the chest of draws opposite the end of the bed; there he pulled out a fresh pair of pyjama pants for Lexi, and a vest top. He walked back over to Lexi and set the clothes down on the bed.

Upon realising that Ace had got out her pyjamas for her, Lexi tiredly sat up and smiled at him, "Thanks..." She grinned at him and kissed him. They pulled away from a moment, before Lexi placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him again, "…but I don't really feel like getting changed quite yet." She spoke softly and kissed him once more.

Ace sat back and looked at her, confused, "I thought you were tired?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

Lexi smiled back at him and ran her index finger down the centre of his chest, "Well...you know…" She smirked at him and kissed him again, "...I'm never too tired for you." A moment passed before Lexi laughed and broke her gaze with Ace, "I'm sorry," she rested her hand on his shoulder, "that sounded really corny – "

She was about to continue when Ace suddenly kissed her and smiled, "why are you so self-conscious?" He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again, before moving his lips to her neck and collarbone.

Lexi didn't answer, she didn't need to, and couldn't: she was trying hard not to moan – not exactly wanting her family to hear what they were getting up to – and allowed him to continue what he was doing. She felt his hand move to rest on her leg, beneath her dress, and felt him slide his hand down to her ankle; running his hand back up against the fur to probe her calf and knee. She felt her breathing pick up and was once again reminded of the same feeling she always bore when she was with him. When she and Ace were together like this, she felt safe and complete: knowing that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She felt all her worries and stresses melt away, and felt as though time stood still and only she and he existed. And she loved all of those feelings, just like she loved Ace.

She sat up slightly, enough to lift her shoulders and waist from the bed, and slid the straps of her dress down her shoulders, allowing Ace to do the rest as she removed her arms and hands from the straps, and he gently pulled the article free from her. She lay back down and continued to kiss him, now dressed only in her underwear, as he was. She felt one of his warm hands rest on her waist, and then slide down and stop on her hip; caressing the soft fur which covered the bone.

Ace smiled at her as he kissed her, feeling one of her hands subconsciously stroking his fur which she seemed to love so much. He loved these moments with her – not only because right now she was scantily dressed, on a bed and alone with him, of course not: he simply enjoyed the closeness and how free he could feel with her; not having to worry about being the leader for a moment, and being able to unwind just with her. His other half.

There was always a point in this stage of their kissing, which presented Ace with a slight concern. The 'next' step in what they were doing. They had done it lots of times before, he couldn't even quite remember how many times; but every time it got to this stage, and another later on, he'd be lying if he said he didn't struggle with his actions…

The next stage involved the removal of the last remnants of clothing: of course that was an easy task physically, but morally he always had second thoughts. These second thoughts occurred due to what had happened to Lexi three years ago. It would be Ace's worst nightmare for it to happen to her again, and he wouldn't know what he would do if he ever came close to doing anything like that - causing her pain, terror and suffering. That's why he always proceeded with caution, always checked her reactions to everything he did; always asked if he could continue doing what he was doing.

He never wanted to take her by surprise, do anything when she wasn't ready, hurt her or discomfort her in anyway. He always felt guilty when, on some nights after they had taken part in these such activities, Lexi would have small nightmares of what had happened to her three years ago in Utah: Ace would wake up, feeling her fidget and hearing her moan with displeasure and fear – then he'd have to wake her up and comfort her that it was just a dream and she was alright.

He would feel appalled with himself after she would settle back to sleep though: for one, it wasn't '_just a dream'_ as he had cooed to her – it was a memory. Secondly, it was a memory conjured up because of the actions of the two of them hours or minutes before them drifting off to sleep: the muscle memory would still be with her, and so the dreams would return.

But it only happened sometimes.

This was why Ace was always cautious: he didn't want the dreams to have come because sometimes he had done something wrong, and other nights, when she didn't have the dreams; he had been more careful and considerate. He still couldn't tell though, and so he had to play it by ear – which hurt him – he didn't want to just guess at what actions of his caused her recurring nightmares, it was unfair, he wanted to find the source and eliminate it: For good.

"Ace?" Lexi's calm and inquisitive voice brought Ace back to the present, and he stared down at heir in question, worried about what he had done subconsciously whilst he was thinking.

"What did I do?" He scanned her carefully, eyebrows arched in worry; concerned he had hurt her.

"What? – Nothing." She smiled up at him and kissed his neck: all she could reach from her position under him. "You just spaced out for a minute." She turned her head on a slight angle, "Are you okay?" She looked at him curiously, with a small hint of excitement in her eyes.

Ace kissed her and smiled, "I'm alright: sorry, I just drifted off for a second. Are you -"

"It looks like you're tired too." Lexi smiled up at him, "I'm sorry." She bit her lip, "I interrupted you, carry on." She made a small motion with her hand which signalled for him to continue from where he was interrupted.

Ace smiled at her and kissed her again, "it's okay. I was just gonna ask ya if you were okay…."

Lexi gave him a confused look, "…I'm…fine?" She grinned at him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Ace almost sighed, but held it in. He wished she hadn't asked that second part. "Nah…it's just…are you alright with…dis?" He gestured with his head and eyes to their lack of apparel and current placements on the bed. He gave her an apprehensive look.

Lexi smiled warmly at him, she brought her hand up to his neck and gently pulled him towards her where she kissed him. "Of course I'm fine. I love you." She kissed his nose.

Ace gave her a smirk and suddenly seemed brighter and more confidant as he leant down to kiss her a few more times, "Alrighty den…"

* * *

Lexi let out a small sigh and smiled, rolling over onto her side to look at Ace, who lay on his back; he immediately looked to her and greeted her with a smile. "Nice one." Lexi smiled and held her hand up to high five him; he complied, lifting his hand up too. She giggled at the goofy action they always did afterwards. When their hands connected, he laced his fingers with hers and held her hand for a moment, and she leant down to kiss him. "Are you alright?" She spoke after a moment, noticing he seemed to be acting quiet.

Ace took her by surprise, sitting up suddenly. "Better dan ever." He kissed her on the lips again.

Lexi gave him a puzzled look, "then what was with the 'spaced out' look there, then?"

Ace gave her a small smirk and kissed her again, this time for slightly longer. "I was just listenin' out in case someone might have heard." He spoke quietly to her, with his head only centimetres from her own.

Lexi gave him a small smile and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing the fur, "I thought listening out like that and panicking was my department?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

Ace smiled back, "I guess you're right." He kissed her again. Now they replaced each other's positions: Lexi lay back down whilst Ace leant up on his side, and they continued to kiss. As they kissed, Lexi found herself caressing Ace's ribs beneath his skin and fur, running her fingers gently over the areas where she could just feel the bone. Ace broke the kiss and raised an eyebrow at her actions, "Yes?"

Lexi gave him a goofy grin, "I don't see why everyone says I'm the skinny one: you've got like…_nothing_ on you!" She then looked up from his chest to his face, noticing the slightly bulging biceps in his arms in the meantime, "Well…kind of."

Ace smiled at her and shook his head, "I may be 'slender' but you're just…well" He poked her in the stomach making her giggle and jump slightly, "See…" he poked her again, and she giggled, "dere's nothin' there!"

Lexi giggled at his actions and flinched slightly as his gentle pokes tickled her. "Ace…" she laughed as he poked her more frequently, as smile on his face as they were able to continue their actions from earlier in the street, "Sto- stop!" Lexi tried to roll onto her side to block his pokes but to no avail. Eventually Ace stopped and lay down next to her, she was on her side still, and so her back was to his front. Ace wrapped his arms around her and nestled his head into the back of her neck, she still giggled, and Ace smiled. "You're so annoying." She muttered under her breath, but Ace still heard her.

Ace grinned and kissed the back of her neck before she rolled over to face him. Ace smiled at her and kissed her on the nose, "I may be annoyin', but you still love me!" he then kissed her on the lips and rubbed her arm. Lexi smiled at him and kissed him on the lips. "So, are we goin' to sleep?" Ace asked after she pulled away.

Lexi smirked at him and brought her hand to his chest to play with his fur – she traced a pattern on his fur near his breast-bone with her index finger, she then looked back at his bemused expression, "I'm not done with you yet…" She wrapped her arms around his upper arms and kissed him, moving herself so that her torso was slightly upon him; she kissed him again and smiled at him.

Ace smiled back and raised an eyebrow, speaking after they had broken away from a kiss, "Oh, I see." He wrapped his arms around her too and kissed her back.

* * *

"Stop, stop…please!" Lexi spoke authoritatively but her voice trembled and cracked as she spoke. Ace gave her a confused and concerned look, getting off her and sitting up in front of her immediately. Lexi pulled the sheet over herself; clutching the cool fabric to herself as she sat up and perched herself on the edge of their bed: staring blankly out of the window; a horrified look on her face and her breathing heavy.

Ace rested the sheet over his lower half, also breathless. He furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a worried look; he was terrified that he had done something wrong: he had always feared something like this would happen, but so far, it never had…until now. He slowly leaned forwards and placed a hand on one of her knees which was rested on the bed, close to him. The moment his palm touched her skin, however, she hastily moved her leg away, closer to the other one which hung off the edge of the bed in front of her.

Ace was confused. He looked at her facial expression and noticed that she looked as though she was thinking intently about something. She also seemed to appear as though she was doing her best not to look at him, and stay as far away from him as possible; she also still clutched the bed sheet to her chest, letting it drape down her. None of it made sense, especially considering that moments ago the two of them were together: as close as they ever could be to one another.

Ace quietly leaned over, trying to make contact with her again. He went to kiss her cheek, but she turned her head away from him; her eyes filling with tears.

Ace sat back, confused and more than a little bit upset. He looked at the clock for a moment, which read 01:28AM, and sighed. He then glanced at the wardrobe, where his winter skiing jacket was concealed, within one pocket was something he wished to give her, but couldn't find the right moment to. He found himself imagining when he would give it to her, and what he would say; but his imaginings were cut short when he heard her breathe out and in in a certain way: he knew she was crying.

He turned back to face her. She was crying into her hands. "Lexi…" Ace made a move to reach out and touch her, but assumed that she wouldn't approve of that: given her actions towards him moments prior to this event. However, after watching her for only a few more seconds, he decided that it wasn't right for him to just sit there and watch her when she was so upset. "Lex, come here." He slowly inched towards her, noticing how she didn't deny his actions this time.

He wrapped his arms gently around her own and softly pulled her against him, she complied. He rubbed her back and sat her in his lap as she moved her head to cry into his chest and half hug him back. Ace still remained confused, he couldn't understand what was wrong, and was worried; terrified; that he had hurt her in some way. However, he was smart enough to know that right now, asking her what was wrong was not going to do anything, and so he continued to hold her: watching as the falling rain outside left water droplet son the window, and listened to the electric fan as it cooled the warm, humid room. Part of him wanted to block out the sounds of her crying.

At one point she sat back and his eyes instantly fell onto her face. She sniffed and wiped away her tears with one hand. She attempted to regain her composure before finally meeting his gaze; "I'm sorry." She spoke quietly, her voice still cracking with emotion.

Now Ace was more confused than ever, and he squeezed one arm gently to let her know it was alright…whatever 'it' was. "What are you sorry for?"

"This." She pointed at her eyes, "For crying." She looked as though she was going to break down again, and so Ace kissed her on the lips, keeping his face close to hers when he pulled away.

"Dere's nothin' wrong with getting' upset, Lex." He gave her a small smile, but she shook her head in response, and so he found that his smile didn't last very long.

"It's not just that." She got off of his lap and sat in front of him, not making eye contact with him as she spoke, and instead, staring down at the bed sheets between them; at the same time still pressing some of the bed sheets to herself. "The reason I asked you to stop…right in the middle of everything…" She trailed off as she found herself looking up at him again; feeling a lump form in her throat from what she was going to say.

"What do ya mean, Lex?" He spoke soothingly, leaned forwards and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

She seemed to enjoy the small moment of comfort, as Ace noticed how she turned her head to his hand as he moved her hair; wanting to feel his skin and fur against hers. "…I don't know what happened…umm…" She broke eye contact with him and looked as though she was thinking again, before turning back to Ace, "…I'm so sorry." She took a deep breath and her voice broke again as she spoke, "…I don't know why…or…how but…" her eyes welled up with tears again, "…I saw _him_. That man from three years ago…" Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at Ace again, "I saw him: your face and _everything_ changed to his. I don't know why. But it scared me."

Ace frowned and pulled her into a hug, stroking her ears as she began to cry again, "…I'm sorry, Ace." She spoke again. Ace softly shook his head, letting her know that she didn't need to say it, "I must have…I don't even know where it came from." She sat back and looked at him again, "…I got really scared. I thought it was maybe a nightmare, but then I realised I wasn't asleep…and…" she pulled a small face, "…it was 'real', the feelings – but _he_ was there. Not you. I got confused; that's why I wanted you to…stop."

"It's alright, Lex." Ace kissed her, holding it for a moment, before finding her free hand (the one which wasn't holding the sheet to her) and gave it a squeeze.

Lexi shook her head and broke the kiss, "No. It's not alright." She removed her hand from within his, and sat back; using her now free hand to support her somewhat. She sighed and then inhaled, "I…thought it was happening again." She looked down, ashamed, when she looked up again; her eyes had again filled with tears, "…I shouldn't have, though. You'd never do that…it's just that…" She was interrupted when he suddenly leaned forwards and kissed her, in her shock, the arm which was supporting her gave way, and she fell back onto the pillows slightly; also losing grip of the sheet she had been holding to herself.

Ace smiled when he noticed her small smirk at the occurrence and lay down next to her, pulling the sheet up to cover them. He lay on his side whilst she remained on her back, snuggling as close to him as she could, once again: deep in thought. Ace put his arm around her shoulders and brought her ever closer to him, rubbing her arm after he had done so. He leant down and kissed her as she looked at him, "You're alright now. And you don't need to be sorry. No harm done, we're both alright; okay?" He gave her a small smile and she nodded back.

She leant up and kissed him, feeling as though she should offer that they continue what they were doing earlier, but felt that she wasn't in the right mood to. She knew that Ace had the same thoughts, and was thankful that he seemed to agree and understand. "I'm still sorry, anyway." She whispered, feeling as though she at least owed him that. Besides, she had already kept them up, made him sad, made _him_ guilty, stopped them in the middle of what they were doing earlier _and _had scared him by telling him why she asked him to stop. She felt that he deserved an apology after all of that.

Ace shook his head a little, with a small smirk: she was too sensitive; always feeling as though she was going to make someone upset by saying or doing something that wasn't always even wrong. He kissed her forehead and looked down at her, running his index finger across her cheek. "Are you good to go to sleep now?"

Lexi thought for a moment, "Umm…to be honest," she gave him a small guilty smirk, "I'm a bit hungry…"

Ace smiled down at her and kissed her on the lips, sitting up. "I'll go and make you some toast". He knew that she wouldn't mind toast: she only needed something small, and anything sweet would keep her up for the rest of the night anyway. He turned back to her and kissed her again, "I love you, Lex." He placed the sheet over her again and retrieved his boxer shorts from the floor by his side of the bed. He pulled them on, gave her a smile, and headed towards the bedroom door.

* * *

He entered the kitchen and opened the cupboard which contained all of their cereals and the bread. He then took out two slices and put them in the toaster, shutting the bread bag afterwards.

As he waited for the bread to cook, he sat down at the table and rested his head on one of his hands. He ran his fingers through the small amount of hair which grew between his ears, and let out a sigh. Something was up with Lexi, and he didn't understand what. She had been acting odd all that evening, but he had never seen her act in the way she had only a few moments ago. She seemed distant, in full thought, and, what scared him the most: she suddenly seemed somewhat untrustworthy of him, and yet she seemed to want to hug him and remain as close as she could to him at the same time. It terrified him.

He sat up immediately when the toaster beeped and indicated that the toast was ready. He grabbed a plate from the rack, and placed the toast on the plate; he then opened a draw a few feet up from where he was standing and pulled out a small knife. He cut the toast into triangular slices from corner to corner, remembering how Lexi had informed him one morning that 'triangular cut toast tastes best.' He chuckled to himself, placed the knife in the sink, turned off the toaster, and picked up the plate and preceded towards their room.


	38. Stories

**Right – it's half midnight here and I'm tired, so if this chapter is riddled with mistakes from my poor editing, then I apologise.**

**Secondly, this could be considered filler-ish, but this is an essential chapter – and better stuff comes in the next, so yeah – I'll try and get that up…soon, I have time to get one written, so maybe you could see an update before September or during the first week before I go back to school, but I can't make any promises though.**

**Thirdly, I would like the dedicate this chapter (however suckish it may be) to the Armed Forces of the world – past and present – who have fought valiantly throughout the many years and wars that have gone by. _Well done, and I myself cannot wait to join you as well._**

**This chapter has a fair few military references in it, most of which I have gotten inspiration from through war-related biographies, and films: be it documentaries, films or miniseries - Most notably, HBO's stunning recent miniseries, '_The Pacific'_, whose stories inspired some aspects of this chapter, and whose soundtrack I repeatedly listened to when writing it. (Those of you who may be familiar with the series may notice where I have wound in aspects of it – I almost wished I could have made it entirely themed this way, but…that would have nothing to do with Loonatics Unleashed, so it would be a bit..strange.)**

**I would say there are no real sexual themes in this (except tiny references, but nothing obvious). I will say that it is ideologically sensitive, purely because some people do not agree with war – which I can completely understand – So if you are not fond of that, once again, I apologise.**

**This chapter is entitled 'Stories' – purely because they may up the majority of the chapter, and it's always nice to know things like that. So there you go.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

**Loonatics Unleashed (is still) © Warner Bros.**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

Having spent most of the morning on a mission, and the remainder of the day wandering aimlessly throughout the lower levels of the tower for some peace in order to think, Ace had decided that today was the day that he would speak with Lexi's father. The man seemed suspicious of him at first, but over the past few days seemed to have begun to like him more – noticing how much time he spent with Lexi – and how genuinely interested Ace was in Lexi's family.

The bunny had gone on a morning run with Pete and Spencer, who were concerned with staying healthy throughout their stay, but with their military prowess and…healthier eating styles – they seemed to be fitter than the Loonatic leader. Rev had considered joining them, but decided that perhaps it might be better to let Ace bond with Lexi's family – though he had helped the three in working out the best routes for their intended distance to run: ten miles. Being a super-powered bird who could run that distance in less than a minute, he was familiar with the best places to do so where the least people could get in the way – a section of beach which was cluttered somewhat with rocks from past storms which the Acmetropolis government had chosen to dump there, when cleaning the other beaches. Rev suggested running higher up than right by the sea, as fewer rocks could get in the way.

This run had taken place before the rest of the occupants in the Loonatic tower had awoken – Ace had left a note for Lexi as to his whereabouts, though she did stir when he got out of the bed, but seemed less than interested in asking him where he was going, as sleep still held her.

The three had returned – sweaty and tired – from the long run, even in the mornings the summer air heated to almost uncomfortable temperatures, so even during their 5AM run, they had still broken a sweat. Even though Pete and Spencer, and other members of the military base adjacent to their town in Utah, were used to running in such temperatures – the heat can be affected by humidity. Being coastal, Acmetropolis was a humid city, whereas in the middle of the desert in Utah, the climate was hot and arid – where the dry air would seize the moisture from one's tongue and force inhabitants to be fairly fit due to how easy it was to overheat. It had seemed, and proven, that it was the perfect place to house several military bases.

As there was more desert surrounding the small towns where Lexi grew up in, than one could poke a stick at, the government had taken advantage of the un-used space, and built an Air Force, Army and Special Forces base – when joining each regiment of the military, people would be posted to bases across the country, including these – therefore, many men (particularly) in the town Lexi grew up in, and other neighbouring towns, belonged to the Military, or had previously served with them; which explained the occupations of Lexi's brothers and many friends who she associated with over the years.

Upon returning from the agonising run, Ace had dived into the shower and began to consider how, with the amount of potentially 'eligible' men which Lexi knew so well from growing up with, whether Lexi's father would approve of his relationship with her. The run had made Ace doubt perhaps how 'manly' he had previously considered himself, and it worried him.

Apologising to Lexi for his quietness, he had asked her to spend the day with her family and enjoy herself, as he had some thinking to do.

/

By 6PM, he had done his thinking.

Walking determinedly out of the elevator, which landed at the floor the Loonatics (and their guests) resided on, Ace had knocked on the door of Lexi's parents' room, and asked to speak privately with Robert, Lexi's father. Surprised and curious, he joined Ace and walked with him to the beach where Ace decided to have the conversation. The fifteen minute walk there had been done in awkward silence, and there was an air of anxiety between the two as they walked slowly there.

Standing at a lookout point, with railing overlooking the sand, by an old, rusted telescope for viewing, and a single, sand-coated bench, Ace turned to the father of his girlfriend.

A friend from college studying psychology had once told Ace, '_Everyone finds it easier to talk about themselves – it's the best way to start a conversation with someone new. Find an object of common interest with said person, and you could have that stranger talking for hours. Fact.' _ Ace decided though, that he didn't know enough about Robert (save for Lexi and her many siblings) to find something they had in common. Instead, he assumed if he spoke of the man's children, he could get him talking. However, he didn't want to speak of Lexi, not until Robert seemed…less…_scary_. He decided to comment on the man's eldest sons.

"So…" he sighed, turning to Robert and leaning on the railings, Robert was seated on the bench, having brushed away a layer of sand which the wind had dumped onto it, "I couldn't quite manage da run dis mornin'. It surprised me, I didn't realise quite how unfit I was." He put on a grim face and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

Robert let out a small smile, "You seem like you're pretty healthy, perhaps too much spiritual stuff might be distracting."

Ace remained silent for a moment. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be offended by that comment, but figured it would be best to take it 'with a pinch of salt' (as his grandmother used to say). He let out a small chuckle, "Yeah. Guys in college used to say it was all hokum, but it kept me focussed on work, so I figured it was good to carry on with – old habits die hard, I guess."

Robert smiled. "I will admit, those two; Peter and Spencer, perhaps try too hard in terms of fitness for the Military. I certainly didn't try that hard…who knows," he shrugged, "Maybe times are changing."

Ace straightened up, "You were in da Military…sir?"

Robert nodded, "You did History right?" the question was rhetorical – of course he would have – but Ace nodded anyway – "Well, you should know, there were some problems a few decades ago…"

Ace cleared his throat, "What was it like…would you mind tellin' me?" He moved to sit beside the man – leaving enough room that wouldn't blur the line between practical strangers which they were, and close friends, which they were not.

Robert thought for a moment, as if trying to think. He stood up and cleared his throat, "I fought in two wars. The first, I was seventeen – never finished high school because I lied about my age and signed up, I had wanted to join the military anyway, and so my parents weren't surprised when I told them I had enlisted. I was always interested in politics: always knew something was gonna stir up, and then it did.

"I'll admit, as a seventeen year old – like all seventeen year old _boys_" he stressed the word 'boys' to emphasise his point. "I thought I was invincible, like the world was my oyster. I knew how to fire a weapon, but you can't learn about combat and endurance just anywhere: the only place you'll know best is the military. I had never been worked so hard in my life," he paused for effect, "and that was just training. I knew by the end of it, that wherever I was going, it was gonna be a lot harder than my training was; but it was that training that would save my life.

"I had my eighteenth birthday on that miserable island a few months after we deployed: it was raining non-stop, it had been for weeks. A buddy of mine asked what the date was, and I was surprised to realise it was the day I was supposed to become a man. My present was a pistol another buddy had taken from a dead enemy."

Ace was stunned: He had seen the occasional war film, and heard the occasional story on documentaries or in history classes, but never from a person who had been through it all, and who could stand in front of him and tell him about it. He listened on in stunned silence, nervous yet eager to listen on.

Robert continued, "Unfortunately, that buddy o' mine who gifted me the pistol was killed about a week or two later; sniper." He looked somewhat uncomfortable as he spoke, remembering the moment again, "it's difficult, as anyone would find it; to see someone just go down like that in front of you; especially a friend. Suffice to say, as you'll hear from anyone else," he put on a grim face, "you learn to get used to it, to not dwell on it – there's plenty of time for that later. A lot of time."

The man composed himself, drawing in a breath and straightening up; apparently it was a somewhat difficult story to tell, and Ace wasn't surprised. "I saw a lot of gruesome things in that war: things I'd never tell the girls, my wife; or even my sons. It sounds sexist or whatever, but the girls: Lexi and Sam think they can cope, but…I don't think they'd be able to. It's not that they wouldn't take the details, they've seen some gory war films with the boys too, but…I think it's the fact that they'd know what I had seen and done in that war – I'm worried it would scare them. Especially Teresa.

"I've told a lot to Angela, as much as I think she can bear; but she'll never understand because she was never there – well, not fully. She knows it was hard and debilitating, she knows a lot of us – heck, _all of us_ – were psychologically damaged at least a bit by that war: but she'll never know about everything. I told her she can read about it if she really wants to know, the same with the girls, but they won't hear much more from me."

Ace lowered his head and switched his gaze to the floor. The fact that Lexi's father refused to tell his daughters and wife about what he experienced said a lot. The fact that he believed they wouldn't be able to handle the thought of their father seeing and doing appalling things in war, said even more. But what of Lexi's brothers? He voiced this question.

Ace cleared his throat and looked up, catching the eye of Robert, and losing his nerve somewhat. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor, before putting his arm back at his side and looking at the man, "What about Lex's brothers? Do you tell dem much?"

Robert gave a small sigh, thinking. "I tell them more than I tell the girls. But it's different, telling your sons – especially since they're in the military themselves. A lot of their friends and the girls' friends are in the military - of course not any of Teresa's friends, they're too young." He shifted his hands on the railing and leant over the balcony, looking down at the beach below, before looking back at Ace, "I feel like….I have to prepare them. It all seems like fun and games when you're young because you don't know what actually happens. They're in now, and they're old enough to understand that it's one of the riskiest jobs you can do. If you lose, there's no coming back: it's not a game like a lot of boys seem to think."

Ace nodded in agreement. He too thought it was silly when people thought that because they could play war games on computers they thought it means they could join the army. Ace didn't have any personal experience of the military, but he understood the stupidity of the idea. "What about your wife – what was she doin' durin' da war?"

Robert smiled. "I met Lexi's mother at twenty-two, when the war ended. She had been working as a nurse for a couple of years with the corps since she finished high school. She was stationed on the island where we rotated to for rest. She treated me for a shrapnel injury: I was walking around with a limp for three weeks before the war ended, I never knew the extent of what had happened when I first got it – I thought I had just pulled something." He gave a chuckle, as did Ace, "She bandaged me up, cracked a few jokes at my expense. We got on straight away; not many anthros were around back then, there still aren't many now. So it was nice to see someone a little more like me."

Robert smiled and let out a cheeky/nervous smile, "According to her, and she still swears it to this day, I was quite cocky for a man who had just come back from a war, victorious. She was about to leave to go on rounds; apparently I suggested, rather suavely, that we have dinner to celebrate the end of the war. As soon as we had shipped home, we had the date – I proposed a few months after, I was determined not to lose her; you learn to value your life a bit more after going through what I did."

"I'll bet." Ace smiled. Robert smirked back.

"Her parents weren't too pleased with the idea of the proposal: I do remember being cocky in this instance," he chuckled knowingly at the memory, "we strolled in to her parent's house, I was in the lead, holding her left hand: displaying the ring to the world. Her father probably would have shot me himself had I not been wearing my dress uniform. I think they decided, despite the age, that if I could look after myself in a war that savage, I could look after Angela." He smiled.

Ace smiled back, slight optimism in his head at that statement…and anxiety. Perhaps her parents would be accepting of them having a child so young…as long as Ace could prove himself worthy of supporting the two. Regular income would be a problem though: the Loonatics didn't have to pay taxes, a '_thank you'_ for their service to the city-planet. Some businesses even donated money on a whim as a thank you or a simple 'job well done' – Ace sometimes suspected it was also in the hopes that the Loonatics would ensure the business would not be harmed if any villain were to try something. They divvied up the money anyway, they naturally received payments from their parents every now and then, _'just to make sure they were eating'_, as Rev's mother had once remarked in a Christmas package addressed to the Loonatics.

Robert continued, and broke Ace out of his thoughts, "I was twenty-three and Angela twenty by the time we had enough money to afford a wedding: our parents contributed when they could, but times were rough from the war, so it was a slow-going process. One of Angela's brothers, who had been a paratrooper in the war, gave her his parachute, which he had kept as a memoir, to use as a wedding dress: it was white silk, and apparently enough to make the skirt with. It saved a lot of money." He gave a small laugh at the thought of his wife wearing a parachute, adjusted and sewn of course, as the wedding dress skirt (along with a bodice which had been acquired along the way).

Ace smiled too, "Dat's a budget weddin' for ya'."

Robert chuckled, "Indeed." His mood turned somewhat sombre, "Angela was pregnant with Peter by the time the next war started again. She was twenty-four and I was twenty six, we already had Spencer too, he wasn't even a year old. I was still employed by the Army, but was only there to train the new recruits. I got called up to serve: they wanted new, younger guys, but wanted those with experience too. I was a Staff Sergeant then; I had been promoted to Lance Corporal before the first war, and earned the next two ranks during and afterwards." He sighed. "It was a lot harder this time round. Instead of being lead, I was the leader: the younger guys were looking to me for support, to keep them safe – I was in charge of them, and they and their loved ones were counting on me to keep them alive. It was a lot to think about, I still hadn't gotten over everything from the first war – and now I had a wife who was pregnant, and a child to think about. I could have lost so much."

Ace shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, he could understand (somewhat) the worried of the man – ever since he and Lexi started going out, he became more aware of how risky their job was, and how easily something could happen to him, and more importantly: her. Since finding out she was pregnant, Ace began to realise his mortality more as well – every mission was a potential gamble, something could happen; a mistake with a weapon, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or not anticipating an enemy's capabilities. This was one of the reasons Ace was so adamant that Lexi was not to go on another mission, and even Ace himself felt increasingly nervous as he and the rest of the team kitted up for a mission. He looked up at Robert, understanding how worried the man could be, cleared his throat with a cough, and spoke quietly. "What did you do?"

"I kept my head down, kept my cool and did what I'd want any officer to do for me: keep me safe and make the right decisions. I lost a few guys, mainly the young ones. I still remember them: their faces, rank, serial number…stories they told – everything - and I don't forgive myself for their deaths." He sighed again.

Ace didn't quite know what to say to that. Instead, he sat down on the bench opposite to the railings above the beach, Robert joined him; looking quite weary from the storytelling and the memories which accompanied them. "That war was over quickly. By the time I was completely out of the Army, I was a Lieutenant and I was twenty-eight: I had two sons and another on the way."

Ace nodded. "T'anks…for tellin' me. I had never heard of any stories or experiences told wit' such…clarity. Most of it was either old propaganda or an un-biased documentary – it's refreshin' to hear it from a real person." He tried not to sound too enthusiastic, though he did mean what he said: hearing something about the wars from a real person could not compare with a boring documentary on the matter.

"Well, I asked the same questions to my dad – perhaps it's just a male intrigue." He smiled. "What caused that question?"

Ace sighed and flattened out his already flat trouser legs from his uniform, "I just felt a little…insignificant on dat run." He smiled, "The military is interestin', and it does a good job, it's always been sometin' I was interested in – I don't know if I ever would have joined. But with da meteor and all…"

Robert nodded, "Yes. Well, I imagine you would've done pretty well in there."

Ace was confused – was that a compliment? "Excuse me, sir?" He furrowed his eyebrows and looked to Robert.

"You do a good job – you've kept Lexi safe, you're mature and you lead a good team. Those are good qualities, son." He smiled at the dumbfounded bunny.

"T'anks." He let out a small smile, "T'ank you!" He put on a grin that Lexi's father approved of him, which reminded him of his original intention. "…And to what I brought you here to speak about…" Ace stood up, worryingly, and looked down at the father of his girlfriend; seated on the bench in front of him, an expectant look on his face. Ace let out a small breath, trying to calm his nerves, and spoke with enough authority so he could still be respected, but enough to show his esteem towards Robert. He chose his words carefully.

"Sir…" he let out a silent gulp as he thought of what to say next. He decided his wording, and stood up straight, Robert deciding to as well, "Sir, as you know, I'm da leader of da Loonatics. I chose Lexi as my second in command." Robert gave Ace a surprised look, apparently he never knew of his daughter's rank on the team. "I chose her because she's intelligent, strong, and athletic and da kind of person I need by my side to help me make da tough decisions. Someone to be on my side and watch my back….I'm sure you can relate."

Robert nodded with an admirable look on his face and he looked at Ace, waiting for him to continue. It was obvious he was proud of Lexi.

Ace breathed in a large lungful of air, he had never done this before, and it was daunting. "I'd like you to know how proud I am of Lexi – she's a very valuable member of da team: we'd fall apart without her. She's a good friend; I believe she's my best friend: I have for a long time." He shuffled his feet and gave a quick glance at the floor, before clearing his throat slightly and looking back at Robert. "Sir, I'd like you to know dis from me, and not from anyone else: Lexi and I…" He noticed Robert's slight look of apprehension, and how it was suddenly masked by one of suspicion. The older bunny raised his eyebrow, waiting for Ace to continue.

Ace felt his jaw tighten, but shut his eye for a brief moment and decided to buck up, "Sir, Lexi…your daughter and I…" he let out a small sigh, and "Lexi and I are together. We have been for," he paused for a moment, thinking ahead to when they would tell their parents about the pregnancy, and not sure he wanted to give away the exact details as to the length of time Lexi and Ace had been together for, it wasn't exactly a long time, anyway. "…a while. I'd like you to hear dis from me, as her leader and her boyfriend."

Robert gave a small nod. He was silent for a few moments, to Ace it felt like a life time. "Do you treat her well, as her boyfriend and not her leader?"

Ace knew what he was getting at. Considering Ace had just demonstrated his admiration for Lexi as a second in command, a relationship based on rank: where he would be in charge, would be something her father would be unlikely to agree with. Luckily, this type of relationship did not exist between them: it was one based on love and trust. "Yes, sir. I believe so. It isn't very commendable for me as a leader to say dis, but as a man I believe it's justly: I look out for her far more dan da others – and I'm not afraid to admit dat. I would never do anyt'in' to hurt her, physically or emotionally. I've never been in love before, but I am in love wit' your daughter, sir. I'm da happiest I've ever been wit' her – she seems happier wit' me dan she was before we started datin'."

Robert nodded in approval, but looked as though he wanted Ace to continue.

"She told me about…what happened to her in Utah three years ago…" He quietened at the end of that statement, as Robert's head, which had been focussing on the ground as he was listening, suddenly whipped up, and he made eye contact with Ace. "It gets to her sometimes, but she's a lot better than she used to be." He spoke those sentences quietly, but looked Robert straight in the eyes and spoke surely next, "I would never let anyt'in' like dat happen to her again. It scared me to know dat dat had happened to her."

Robert looked as though he agreed. "My point from earlier, son; was not to tell you about my life story: but to explain something important. Despite all I went through in that first war, how young I was: and then to be married with children during the second: none of that fear even remotely equates to the fear I felt when my sons, and their friends, brought Lexi home that night." Ace could tell how much it even affected Lexi's father. It wasn't distinctive or highly noticeable, but Ace could hear the man's voice crack slightly as he spoke. "She had been through a lot. When she was born, with Sam, none of us thought Lexi was going to make it: she was the weaker of the two twins and was deprived of oxygen during the birth – that scared me too. She had been bullied at school just for being a bunny: Sam was too. Sam's always seemed stronger than Lexi, in all respects. But what happened to Lexi that night, and everything afterwards…" he sighed, "it's something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. I can't describe what she was like: when you first met her, after it had happened, but a few months since, she was bad: but not as bad as she had been. Nothing has ever scared me more."

Ace was speechless. He had many questions running through his mind: 'what else happened to Lexi afterwards?', 'how did it affect the other members of the family if her dad was so shaken up by it?', 'why was Sam so much stronger?' and 'when would Lexi, if ever, get over it?'. Ace felt though, that these were questions he would either have to save for another day, or ask someone else about. For Robert's next words surprised Ace.

"Ace. The fact that you care so much for my daughter, in terms of as a team mate, and within your relationship as well as the fact that you are concerned with what happened to her those years ago, and that you had the decency to speak to me out front about it all; makes me think you're the type of man Lexi needs with her." He gave Ace a small smile.

Ace grinned back, but then composed himself, "T'ank you, sir." He looked around for a moment and then said quietly, "But…dat's not all dat I wanted to discuss wit' you, sir." He let out a small, apprehensive breath.

Robert looked up, with a small smile, and sat up straighter as Ace rose from his seat and stood before him. "Okay." Robert replied.

Ace looked up for a moment and then down again, "It's not exactly somet'in' I want to discuss…it's more somet'in' I would like to ask from you, sir…" He was about to say something else, but then decided against it.

Robert raised an eyebrow, "Alright then, son; what do you want to ask?"

/

Ace walked through HQ with a grin stretch from ear to ear. If there wasn't the possibility for others to see him, he might have even skipped – but he chose not to. Robert had returned a while earlier, having gone out for dinner with his wife and Teresa. Now, Ace had also returned, and was in search of Lexi.

He walked past other bedrooms before coming to a half before his and Lexi's, but it was the sound of girlish chatter in the room behind him – Lexi's former room – that caused him to turn around and knock on the door, as he did so, that chatter stopped. "It's Ace…can I come in?"

The response was a simple, "It's open", which came from someone other than Lexi. Considering the voice didn't sound like her, Ace assumed it might have been Leah, since Lexi and Sam sounded so similar. He pressed the button to the side of the door to allow it to open, and poked his head through the doorway.

Lexi was seated on a wooden chair by the side of her hammock, whilst Sam and Leah sat on the air mattress on the floor – Teresa wasn't present, and instead was with her parents in their room, as Ace had heard them talking when he had walked past their room earlier.

"Oh, speak of the devil." Lexi smiled as she looked up at Ace, getting up from her chair in the process and walking over to Ace.

Ace smiled at her and took her hand, planting a small kiss onto her cheek before looking back at Sam and Leah, Sam was fiddling with a book whilst Leah was switching between looking at the bunny couple, and sending Sam an amused look, as well as an exhausted one. "Umm, is it alright if I borrow Lex for a while?" Lexi gave Ace a confused look but still smiled back at him when he grinned at her.

"Sure, take her" Sam spoke as if distracted and waved her right hand as if to dismiss, but just as Lexi and Ace were about to leave the room, Sam piped up again, "Do you guys have any Acetone?"

Lexi sighed and covered her face with her hand, "Sam…!"

Ace furrowed his brows, "what?"

Leah lifted Sam's left wrist to reveal that the book Sam had been studying so intently was in fact stuck to her hand.

Lexi turned to Ace and removed her hand from her face, "Sam and superglue don't mix…" She put on a grim yet amused face.

Ace just half-smiled and pointed his thumb towards the kitchen, "Top cupboard to da right of da oven."

/

"Ace!" Lexi giggled as Ace enthusiastically pulled her through the doorway into their bedroom, through the small corridor past wardrobes, and into the main room, "What's up?" Ace stopped, turned around and pulled Lexi, gently, to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Lexi, while happy, was also confused. "Ace – what's going on, I know what you meant by 'borrow' me; but why so…enthusiastic? What happened?"

Ace let out a small sigh and kissed her, "Not'in'." He shrugged and resumed kissing her.

Lexi still felt suspicious of him, but decided to enjoy the moment, she figured if he had something to tell her, she would find out soon enough.

/

"Are you eventually gonna tell me what got you so…" Lexi couldn't think of a word to finish her sentence, and so instead just waved her hand around for a moment before dropping it to her side and smiling up at Ace, exhaling a breath as she did so.

"Soon. But not now." Ace smiled down at her and leant up on his side, leaning down for a moment to kiss her. He propped his arm up on the pillow and rested his head on it, using his free hand to caress Lexi's neck and shoulder. "I love you, Lex." He smiled at her and kissed her again.

Lexi smiled and leant up on her elbows and kissed him back, "I love you too." She turned away from him for a moment to take a sip from her glass of water which had been placed on the bed side table next to her. When she turned back, Ace was adjusting the covers which were making him too hot in the already warm room. Lexi smiled at him and lay back down on the bed whilst Ace returned to his previous position and looked down at her.

"So, what's your story, Lex?"

Lexi looked at Ace with confusion, furrowing her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

Ace shrugged, "Your Dad told me about da wars he fought in – what about you?"

Lexi giggled, "I haven't fought in any wars…"

Ace rolled his eyes, "Seriously, Lex." He spoke quieter as he rubbed her arm gently with his finger, "I know what happened three years ago…but what about…after? You said you went to college…"

"Oh, right." Lexi sat up, still feeling the need to cover herself with the sheet as she crossed her legs and looked down at Ace, "I was only at the University for a while, I had wanted to study History, but I needed a scholarship, so that's why I tried out for the cheerleading squad." She paused, thinking, and Ace took this moment to stroke the fur on the edge of her cheek with his thumb, "…I had a lot of anger I wanted to get out of my system. I tried really hard on that routine: I had more I was gonna do with the equipment, but no one else was using it so I assumed I couldn't either. So I stuck to the floor routine, everyone loved it…but the captain didn't." She frowned, "So I knew that since I didn't make the squad, I couldn't get a scholarship, so I wouldn't be able to go to college – I was devastated." She sighed, but then put on a smile, "But then the meteor hit, and: here we are!" She grinned, leaned forwards and kissed Ace. When she pulled away she sat back with her legs crossed and smiled at him.

Ace smiled back, "You've been through a lot. I wish I had known you before all of dat, I could have helped more…"

Lexi interrupted him by shaking her head, looking down at her legs, when she looking back up at him her face said everything, "You wouldn't have wanted to be involved back then…" She broke her eye contact with him and stared at the pillows before looking back up at him, waiting for his response.

"Why?" Ace furrowed his eyebrows with concern as he kissed her knee, which was easier for him to reach, since he was lying and she was sitting on the bed.

Lexi frowned. "I wasn't so great back then…depressed…I didn't trust men…I didn't want to be alone – yet sometimes I really yearned for it. I cried a lot, got upset easily…" she sighed. "It was hard – for everyone." She felt her eyes prickle with tears.

Ace frowned, and opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't think of anything. He shut it again.

Lexi gave him a half-smile. "I got better though…slowly." She looked down again and spoke more quietly, "I'm ashamed of some things, though."

"Like what?" Ace spoke barely above a whisper as he sat back against the pillows and invited her to sit closer to him. She complied, shifting herself under the covers and cuddling up to him, resting her head on his chest and stroking his fur as she thought about how to compose a response to that question. She was glad, in some ways that she didn't have to look at him when she spoke next, and felt his warm hand on her shoulder to be a comforting and relaxing feeling.

Lexi sighed, "I couldn't speak to my dad or my brothers…" she felt a lump in her throat, "I was so scared it would happen again that I stopped trusting people – all of my guy friends who are like my brothers I've known them so long, I couldn't speak to them for even longer…" Her vision blurred as tears covered her eyes, "I had to get counselling for months before I could be considered 'relatively normal'." Tears now spilled down her cheeks and she hastily wiped them away with her hands, "I still wasn't right at home though, I needed to get away. So when Alex moved over here to join the hospital he works at now, I moved with him and stayed with him for a while until I would go to college….but then everything happened so…"

Ace gave a small smile and rubbed her arm, "It's okay now, Lex." He felt that he should empathise with her and be more helpful, but he was still buzzing from his conversation with Robert earlier – he tried to mask his excitement, not wanting her to take it the wrong way that he could be mocking her or something, and was also not wanting her to catch on to what was going on. Lexi let out a small smile in response. Suddenly, Ace sat up, slowly so as to not startle her. He looked down at her as she sat up to look at him; her questioning expression said '_what_?' Ace snapped his fingers at the same time as he pointed to her with a stunned look on his face, "I t'ink I know why you might be feeling a bit sensitive about what happened three years ago, Lex."

"What?" Lexi shrugged.

"I t'ink da fact dat your family is here has perhaps brought back everyt'in' you felt dose years ago." He rested his hand gently on her leg, "T'ink about it. Apart from phone calls, e-mails and video calls with dem, you haven't seen dem all physically since you left to come here – you left because you wanted closure from what happened in Utah…So dem bein' here might have brought everyt'in' back. Not to mention we're both nervous about tellin' dem." He half smiled at her and kissed her gently on the lips, holding the kiss for a few moments before breaking away, "So maybe dat's it."

Lexi thought about it for a moment and nodded, "I think you're right." She put on an amused expression, "Who are you, Tech, now?" She smiled and leant forwards to kiss him, sitting herself on his lap as she did so.

Ace smiled into the kiss and held onto her hips. He broke the kiss but their faces remained close, "Maybe I am….but I'm not." He smiled at her and kissed her quickly again. They kissed a few times more before Ace broke the kiss, a thought striking him. "Oh yeah, I forgot to say, Lex." He paused, wondering how she would take it, "I told your dad about us earlier. Figured he should know, and know from me –rather dan let it slip from one of da guys. Plus, dis way he knows."

Lexi hesitated and got off of Ace, sitting herself beside him. She ran her fingers through her hair and ears and then gave a small sigh, pouting, "So…what did he say?" She furrowed her eyebrows; intrigued and concerned as to what his answer might contain.

Ace smiled, "He's happy – happy dat you're happy, and happy dat he sees me fit to look after you."

Lexi let out a small squeal of excitement before almost throwing herself onto Ace, and he wrapped his arms around her after she did so, hugging her back, "I'm so happy! I…I can't believe he was so accepting?" Lexi smiled as she sat up to look at Ace, who was now lying back on the bed.

Ace kissed her and then responded, "Neither was I, I was grimacin' when he was about to answer, I was so worried he'd be mad or somet'in'."

Lexi beamed back, "And to think I've been so stressed about this for weeks!" She let out a relaxed sigh and lay down on the bed next to Ace and smiled, "I feel like I whole weight has been lifted off my shoulders!"

Ace smiled and turned over to kiss her, "I told you you're a worry-wart and dat you've been panickin' all dis time for not'in' – but you didn't listen!" He kissed her playfully on the nose and she let out a small, amused sigh.

"I know, I know." She poked him on the chest, "Why do you have to be right all the time?"

Ace shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not always right. Let's face it, it's my fault we're in dis whole t'ing…"

Lexi rolled her eyes and gave him an unimpressed look.

"Wait, wait, wait. I wasn't finished." Ace smiled and held a finger above her lips, "but I'm t'ankful for dis 'mistake' we made. Lexi, if we hadn't did what we did dat first night, we might not be as close as we are – we might not hold da same feelings as we do. So I'm t'ankful for how it's turned out, I wouldn't have it any different." He kissed her.

Lexi let out a breath and considered it. He was right: for all they know, they might have broken up three days after their first date and might have never been as close as they are now. Although she sometimes resented what was happening to her, she could agree that it might have all been for the best, and she was also thankful for that. Very thankful.

"I love you, Ace." Lexi smiled at him and kissed him, feeling a small lump develop in her throat from her realisations: there should be no 'should've', 'would've' or 'could've' in their life together, what was happening now was how it was going to be, and they were both ready to face it and experience it together.

"I love you too, Lex."


	39. Progress

**Once again, sorry for the lateness of the chapter.**

**This one's a bit filler-y, but now that I'm less busy, I might be able to get the next one up soonish.**

**I also tried to focus a bit more on the other characters too as it is quite dominant towards a certain two….sorry about that!**

**I also attempted to make it a bit shorter and thus more manageable…though I'm not sure if it is! **

**Either way, I hope you enjoy it, and sorry again for the lateness but I've been more busy than I could possibly explain (exams, exams, exams, exams, exams…birthdays, summer, exams etc)**

**Loonatics Unleashed © Warner Bros.**

**[Sorry for the lameness of the chapter name, but I really wasn't sure what to call it...]**

**Also, there is some mild swearing and some minor suggestiveness in this chapter, but nothing you wouldn't hear on a standard sitcom!**

* * *

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

"I have successfully procured beverages from your weird kitchen stuff" Sam announced as she walked into Ace and Lexi's room, holding two mugs in one hand and a glass in the other, she watched them as she slowly walked, attempting not to spill any of the contents on the carpet as she moved from the door to the bed where Lexi and Leah sat waiting.

"What do you mean 'weird'?" Lexi asked as Sam approached.

"It's normal to you, but your weird gadgets for making tea and coffee, it took me forever to work them. Rev? I think his name is, had to help me." Sam passed the glass to Lexi and handed one of the mugs to Leah and sat down on the edge of the bed, leaving a gap between where Leah had also perched herself on the edge, whilst Lexi sat cross-legged near the centre so they created a semi-circle in which to talk.

"Anyway," Leah spoke, clutching her mug and adjusting her seating slightly, "You and Ace, eh?"

Sam raised one eyebrow, "And sharing a room too, this is not the Lexi I remember."

Lexi blushed at their comments and took a sip from her water, "I only said I'd wait until I was married because I had never been in a relationship before. People change."

Leah smiled, "So what's he like? He seems nice. I imagine he has to be good to you; otherwise you wouldn't be with him. I have to admit, he's pretty good looking."

Lexi grinned and looked down momentarily, smiling to herself, "He's amazing. More than I could describe." Leah and Sam looked to her to elaborate. Lexi leaned forwards and placed her glass on the bedside table and then sat back how she had been. "I guess he's just the stereotypical boyfriend. I wouldn't know." She shrugged, "He's just really cool and funny, he makes me laugh, makes me feel safe."

"Is he good in bed?" Sam smirked and raised an eyebrow at Lexi.

Lexi's eyes widened, "Sam!" She paused and bit her lip, thinking, "I guess? I wouldn't know." She giggled.

Sam took a sip from her drink and looked knowingly at the wall, "that's a yes." Lexi gave her an unimpressed look.

Leah was eager to hear more, "So how long have you two been going out?"

Lexi paused for a moment and gave her pre-rehearsed, ambiguous, reply, "A while." She shrugged.

Leah smiled back and looked down at the bed for a moment, "So what happened to start everything out?"

"Well," Truthfully, Lexi wasn't too sure. Ace had asked her out, she said yes. It didn't exactly sound like the romance it had felt to her, and it would sound silly saying that's all it was. She knew it was more and she knew Ace felt the same. There had been an unspoken connection between them for years. She never wanted to say anything to him, not wanting to upset their friendship or risk being turned down – she also liked the tradition of the man asking. Ace wanted to be professional and also didn't want to risk their friendship. It had been a sudden leap of faith when he asked her out so suddenly; he had postulated the idea for weeks but couldn't find an appropriate time to ask, walking back from the mission after saving her, when they were somewhat secluded, seemed like the perfect time. Neither of them wanted to admit the rashness of their decision to spend the night together on their first ever official date. The two had discussed it recently in the darkness of their room when they cuddled together. They wouldn't have wanted to take it back, but neither could understand why they did it – both had their morals, and their actions that night did not represent them in the slightest. It had been a sudden act of passion between two friends who mutually knew they were more than that; they just had a confidence block shielding them from the realisation. They knew their decision was rash and immature, but they had been on so many 'dates' to the movies, shopping, dinners; that it was as though they had been in a form of relationship, it just wasn't official.

"Earth to Lexi?" Sam raised a hand to Lexi's face and waved it, bringing Lexi back from what had apparently become a day dream.

"Huh?" Lexi shook her head, "Oh." She readjusted how she was sitting and answered, "We had both liked each other for a long time. We just didn't know it. We might as well have been going out anyway with the amount of time we spent together – he was like my best friend…"

Leah and Sam gasped, appalled.

Lexi raised an eyebrow at them and sighed, "Sam, you're my sister – that's different."

"_Twin_ sister." Sam stressed, "That surpasses the bond of mere 'sisters' – we shared a womb for nine months, nothing makes you closer than that." She crossed her arms.

Lexi conceded, "of course" and turned to Leah, "and Leah, you might as well be related. But guys, can you just not nit-pick, it's how it was and how we felt and that's that. He was like my best friend." She paused, "…and then he asked me out and suddenly we were more than that. And have been ever since." She smiled to herself and placed her hands in her lap, "As cheesy as it sounds, I already know he's 'the one'." Lexi was interrupted by a resounding 'aww' from Leah, and an 'eww – dude, that's a huge cheese-fest' from Sam. Nonetheless, she continued, "I have for a long time. As weird as it sounds, I want things to go further, you know."

"Like…marriage?"

Lexi smiled at Leah, "Yeah. We're too close for anything not to happen. I think it will. It's just a question of when."

Leah and Sam exchanged glances.

Lexi swept her hand over the duvet in front of her to remove the creases and looked up at Sam, "So how's stuff with you and Josh?"

Sam shrugged, "Normal. Same as usual. Nothing's changed since we last talked. Same antics as when you were still back home." She sat back, resting her hands behind her back to support her, "though we've discussed maybe moving to Phoenix. Not sure when. We just want to, maybe get an apartment somewhere."

"What are you waiting for?" Leah asked

"Thanks for encouraging me to stay." Same responded, dryly and then smiled, "I don't know. It's not financial reasons if that's what you're wondering." As a composer who had created scores and soundtracks for many films and TV shows despite her young age, Sam had a reliable income of a considerable sum. Most of which she gave to her parents for all they had done for her. She also had been saving some of her money to help Lexi through college – though Lexi didn't stay for long and so didn't require it. Sam donated much of it to charities or local shops and schools since she didn't need so much. She considered she had too much than she knew what to do with and would only spend it on 'pointless junk' if she kept it available. She was planning to aid her brothers when they moved on with their training, to support them, as their current salaries meant it was better if they stayed at the family home for the time being. "I don't know. We're both putting it off I think. Maybe when we turn twenty-one? I don't think we want to leave. It's just an idea we've thrown around. You know," she directed her comment at Lexi, "Lethargic musings."

Leah looked between the two as Lexi smiled knowingly at the comment. "What?"

Lexi responded, "We invented it. Ironically, during it. Basically, it's when you get so tired you start considering everything that pops into your head is possible and you declare it doable. Like when you're drunk and think you can jump off a roof and not get hurt…" The three chuckled at the comment.

"A mistake even a drunken Jeremy will never make again…" Sam smiled whilst looking upwards, remembering the circumstance.

Lexi continued, "…or when you make New Year's resolutions: you know, when you state whole-heartedly you can do something and make it your mission to get it done. Though it rarely happens."

Leah picked up her mug and took a sip from in coolly, "That's what I said about being a surgeon."

The girls' head turned at the sound of the pneumatic doors opening and Ace appeared from the small corridor which separated his bedroom door from the main room. He looked tired and surprised to see them, "Oh, hey girls." He smiled.

Leah and Sam exchanged intrigued glances as Ace walked over to Lexi. "I'm gonna take a shower if dat's alright." He spoke quietly, his face close to Lexi's as he leant over the bed to place his head near her shoulder. Lexi smiled and nodded. Ace raised his head slightly to address all three females, "I didn't interrupt anyt'in' did I?"

Lexi shook her head, "No. You're fine." She smiled at him and leaned forwards as Ace lowered his head to kiss her, they held it for a few more moments than they might have in front of other company before Ace pulled away and gave the others a small smile. He kept eye contact with Lexi as he walked across the room until he disappeared into the bathroom.

Sam and Leah smiled as Lexi looked over to him and held her gaze at the bathroom even after Ace had disappeared from view. "You two are so having a child together." Leah remarked.

"What?" At this comment, Lexi's head whipped round and she stared, shocked and startled at Leah who looked on at her innocently. "How do you know that?" She tried to keep her voice from shaking and sound innocent, but she feared Leah at least knew.

"I can tell by the way you two look at each other. I don't know, I can just see it happening."

Lexi breathed a silent sigh of relief and smiled, though not sure what to say. She simply nodded.

/

Leah and Sam left a few minutes before Ace left the bathroom, deciding it was late and they should discontinue their conversation, having made plans for the next day.

Lexi perched herself on the edge of her and Ace's bed, hearing him about to leave, she fiddled with the vest of her pyjama top (she had changed after her sister and Leah had left the room). Ace poked his head out of the doorway before fully exiting the bathroom, not wanting to interrupt anything. He noticed Lexi's thoughtful look and, from his position on the other side of the room, jumped onto the bed so he lay on his stomach, his head at her side and looked up at her. "What's up, Lex?" He rested his head on one hand and placed the other on her leg and rubbed it softly.

"I don't know." Lexi sighed, turning herself to look down at him, "It's just hard to lie to them. It's getting difficult, and I hate imagining how hurt they'll be when they find out." She frowned. "Part of me was so tempted to tell Leah and Sam earlier. It felt like the right time."

Ace furrowed his eyebrows and stared down at the bed under him for a moment, "Tell dem. If ya want. If it takes it off ya mind," he shrugged, "if it makes ya feel better, tell dem. Dose two seem like dey could help ya out wit' it, maybe keep it quiet until ya decide to tell everyone else."

Lexi shook her head and swallowed, "It's not just that, though." Ace sat up and took her hand, "I'm just worried they'll all hate me or something. And you. Sam…I'm closer to her than anyone I think," she paused and glanced at Ace, "_I think_" she stressed, "you two might be on a tie right now". I'd hate to lose her. I'm already worried they all think I've changed too much…"

"Do ya t'ink ya have?" Ace rubbed her hand with his thumb and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

She thought for a moment, "I don't think so. Obviously I've changed since…what happened. But comparing myself now to how I was before that happened, I don't think so. I'm fairly confident; I'm still interested in the same type of music and that kind of stuff. Obviously I've grown up, and can handle myself better, what with the job and all."

Ace gave her a soft smile, "den don't worry about it. Ya don't know for sure dat dey t'ink you're different, ya don't know if dat would be a bad t'ing anyway. Don't worry about somet'in' dat hasn't happened." He leaned forward and she moved closer to him as he wrapped his arms around her, "just be happy dey're all here, and spend some quality time wit' them. Let loose and have fun, ya don't have ta go on any missions, you're on a break. So enjoy yourself." He leaned back to ensure the message had been understood by her.

Lexi half-smiled and nodded before nestling into him again. "Lex," Ace spoke again, and Lexi looked up at him, "I mean it." He looked at her seriously for a few moments and then gave her a soft smile, pulling her closer to him, "ya need ta stop gettin' yourself all worked up. T'ings will work out. Dey always do."

/

When Slam awoke, he could smell heaven.

The largest member of the team pulled on his uniform faster than he believed Rev could accomplish the same feat and, following his nose, exited his room and turned left. Walking almost as though in a trance along the corridor, Slam arrived at the main room and turned into the kitchen and beheld a sight he had not come across since joining the team.

"Morning, Slam" Duck spoke happily, looking to the devil for a moment and then back to the source of the smell before suddenly bolting out of his chair, "SLAM?"

Tech, with his cup of coffee in hand, was busy reading the newspaper during this occurrence but glanced up at what he could only assume was an impending scuffle. He gave Duck a stern look before gesturing to his left with his head and eyes.

Duck gasped in disbelief, "Hey, I ain't the one causing trouble. You don't have to be a genius to know what Slam's like," he gestured to Slam with his thumb, "I should know." He stated proudly.

Tech shook his head and turned back to his newspaper before the sound of Lexi's mother's voice made him turn again to his left.

"Is everything alright?" Angela bunny looked round at the three Loonatics with concern as she continued to stir the bowl she had resting on her hip with a wooden spoon.

"Don't-worry-Mrs.-Bunny, everything's-alright. You-see-Slam-gets-excited-when-nice-food-is-around-because-we-rarely-get-nice-home-cooked-stuff-because-there's-never-anyone-willing-to-make-it. Not-to-mention-we-can-never-be-sure-when-we're-gonna-have-to-drop-everything-to-go-and-save-the-world. And-Lexi's-not-too-great-at-cooking, though-I'm-sure-you-know-that. Not-that-I'm-insulting-her-or-anything, She's-a-lovely-person, but-sometimes-a-fact-is-a-fact. And-I'm-not-trying-to-be-sexist, but-none-of-us-guys-would-really-ever-get-in-the-mood-to-cook-this-sort-of-thing. Lexi's-tried-but-it-didn't-work-out-well. Tech-had-to-run-in-with-a-fire-extinguisher-once-and-burnt-himself-trying-to-put-out-a-fire-in-the-oven-that-started-accidentally-when-Lexi-had-the-oven-temperature-up-too-high-because-she-had-the-temperature-set-as-though-it-were-Celsius-not-Fahrenheit –because-the-recipe-she-was-using-was-actually-British. But-don't-worry, Tech-was-okay. He-can-regenerate-so-everything-was-fine-and-so-was-Lexi. She-was-a-bit-disappointed-naturally-that-the-cake-she-had-tried-to-bake-was-burnt, but-the-main-thing-was-she-tried, which, let's-face-it, is-all-you-can-do-sometimes. And-Slam-still-ate-it, so-it-wasn't-a-wasted-effort. Though-it-_was_-the-time-when, on-Pancake-Day,-Tech-had-to-"

"Rev." Tech spoke sternly, and looked to Angela, who looked thoroughly confused.

"Sorry." Rev blushed.

Angela smiled and laughed, "Don't worry, dear. I understood the gist." She set down the bowl she had been mixing on the counter and looked over her shoulder to Slam, who, during Rev's talking, had sat down at the table in the kitchen opposite to the oven, and waited for the cookies Rev and Angela were baking, to be done. "Once I've put these on a tray, I'll let you lick the bowl if you'd like." She smiled at Slam.

Slam, who was so delighted by how his morning was going so far that he couldn't form a single word, simply nodded, his eyes fixed on the bowl with the same hypnotic look to them as they had had previously.

"What? No fair. That's one of the whole reasons I was in here!" Duck crossed his arms and pouted, slumping in his chair while Slam stuck his tongue out at him. "You're despicable" he muttered at the Devil, who smiled cheekily.

"There'll be plenty for you too, Duck; don't worry." Duck smiled at the response from Lexi's mother and stuck his tongue out at Slam in return. Tech sighed and returned to his newspaper.

"Oh, Rev, honey, those will be done now." Mrs. Bunny pointed down at the oven, "Could you take them out for me, please, my hands are covered in dough." She smiled as she kneaded the cookie dough under her palms, ready to separate it into pieces to place on the baking tray for their next batch.

"Sure-thing!" Rev said excitedly as he put on the oven mitts and opened the oven and took out two trays of cookies arranged four-by-four on each tray. He placed them on one of the counters near him and eyed Duck and Slam wearily. "These-will-still-be-too-hot, guys. Wait-a-minute-or-two." He smiled at Angela and Tech did also from behind the newspaper. They had already made a previous batch which they had already put in jars and hidden up in a cupboard. Rev had advised Angela when she postulated the idea of baking, that their team alone would go through one batch of cookies and so she had decided to make three batches to satisfy everyone's hunger and to ensure everyone got some. She and Rev had been up at 08:00 making them, the smell that had attracted Slam and Duck was the smell from the first batch, but they failed to realise that as a sign that some were already ready to be eaten. Now at 09:00, Rev and Angela were working well as a team making the cookies together; Rev had excitedly asked to help when Angela had mentioned how she had thought of making something nice for the team to thank them for their hospitality and kindness towards her family, as well as Lexi when she joined the team.

Tech had been up at 07:00 and had already had breakfast when Robert and Angela got up and arrived in the Kitchen, and Rev was up at 07:20 and had happily run to the store to pick up the necessary ingredients to make so many cookies. Robert had taken Teresa out to see the sights in the meantime, and Pete and Mitchell had gone to visit a friend of theirs who lived in the suburbs of Acmetropolis. Michael and Spencer had also gotten up early to visit a museum where they would later meet Teresa and Robert.

There had been no sight of Ace, Lexi, Sam or Leah; though Teresa had said that Leah was in the shower when she had gone back into the room they had been sharing to retrieve her bag before her and her father left.

As if on cue, Leah walked into the room dressed and ready for the day, "It smells great in here" she smiled as she sat down beside Duck. She smiled at Duck, Slam and Tech seated at the table and looked to Tech's coffee, "where would I be able to get one of those?"

"I'll do it." Tech got up and poured her out a coffee, "How do you take it?"

"Any way's fine, black will do." Tech handed her the cup, "thanks."

"Err, bread and cereal is over in that cupboard." Tech pointed behind Leah who smiled.

"Thanks, but don't worry. I ate earlier."

"When?"

Leah looked up and took a sip from her coffee, "Must have been…five thirty?"

The Loonatics in the room looked surprised, "Why on _earth_ would you do that?" Duck looked to her.

Leah half-smiled, "My body clock's completely out of whack, courtesy of eighteen hour shifts at who knows what time and very, very little sleep. My hours suck right now since I might as well been seen as a newbie since I've just made surgeon. And they've needed extra staff in the ICU anyway, so I've been doctoring even more." She spoke dryly and took another sip, "these hours are a bitch."

Duck raised an eyebrow, "You sound just like Tech." Both Leah and Tech turned to Duck, "Well, not _just_ like him. He's up all the time too, at odd hours." He glanced at Tech.

Leah nodded, "Interesting." She turned to Tech and smiled, "guess I know who to talk to when I'm bored because I can't sleep."

Tech gave a small chuckle, "You'd be surprised how many of them have done that." It was true. A general rule of thumb within the tower had been that if anyone was ever awake because they couldn't sleep, they tended to go and talk to Tech. The hidden reason was that sometimes, after asking 'what'cha doin'?', the explanation was enough to bore them into fatigue. Tech didn't' always appreciate the midnight chats, but sometimes having someone make his coffee for him gave him some more time to get work done. And occasionally, company was nice.

Leah smiled and then glanced at her watch, "I should probably wake Sam. Though sometimes I envy her ability to sleep all day, it's rude to do that at someone else's place." She got up and left the room, leaving her coffee behind to return to.

Tech gave Duck an unimpressed look after she had left, and spoke quietly so as to not let Angela (or Rev) hear, "what was that about, Duck? What are you playing at?"

"Nothing, jeez. You guys have stuff in common, I'm pointing it out, where's the harm in that?" He sat back in his chair and shrugged.

"But to what end? Why are you pointing it out?" Tech pressed.

"Perhaps I want to see you be happy for a change? So you could bond with someone who kinda likes science and could probably understand all your babble so you could have a conversation with someone who understands you."

Tech looked annoyed for a moment, and then touched, somewhat, by the Duck's honesty and kindness. "Oh. Wow, thanks, Du-"

"But I can't stress this enough," Duck interrupted him, standing up, and talking at a normal volume again, "It's also because that way, if you can talk and have a conversation with someone who can understand all your science crap, you'll stop telling me about it." And with that, Duck took a cookie off the bench and left the room. As he turned the corner and took a bite out of his cookie, though, those in the vicinity heard a resounding, "YEEEEEOW!"

Tech smiled to himself and picked up his newspaper again. Maybe there was such a thing as karma.

/

"Okay, I'm up!"

Lexi shot up in bed, Ace, slightly dazed, sat up slowly beside her, "What? Are you okay – did ya have anoder nightmare?" His fatigue turned into concern as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What?" Lexi looked at him, confused, "No…I thought you said something?"

Ace shook his head, "I didn't say anyt'in'."

Lexi furrowed her eyebrows, "Must've heard something then." She moved her legs to the side of the bed, intending to get out.

"Probably." Ace lay back down and yawned, noticing Lexi moving, he wrapped an arm around her waist, "Where are ya goin'?"

Lexi looked back to him, "I think I want to get up now."

Ace frowned, "Ya t'ink? Why don't ya stay for a bit?" He smiled at her and she smirked back.

"Not now. It's too late." She looked at how much light was streaming through the gaps in their curtains and Ace sighed. "Actually, it's way too late." Lexi worriedly looked to him and back at the alarm clock; Ace sat up and read it, sighing. "This would seem suspicious. I'm sorry, Ace." She leaned down and kissed him and then stood up, "I don't want to risk anything. And I have plans with Leah and Sam today." She walked round the bed, grabbing some clothes from the chest of draws.

"Dat's nice." Ace smiled and sat up, "I might try ta do some trainin', maybe see if I can get to know your brothers a bit better."

Lexi smiled at him and from the doorway into their bathroom, walked over to him and gave him a long kiss, "Sounds like a plan."


End file.
